death came & got me
by LittletonPace
Summary: Jordyn Emery has been with the Atlanta survivors from day one. With no end of zombie Hell in sight, introverted Jordyns attempts to stifle haunting memories become much more difficult to keep hidden. Beta'd by the lovely gameovaries.
1. Back To Atlanta

**AN: New OC for my newest TV obsession, The Walking Dead. Special thanks to my beta gameovaries :)  
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**Chapter 1: Back To Atlanta**

Jordyn knew they could always use more guns.

She sat in the back of the truck across from T-Dog and next to Glenn. Daryl was sitting in the passenger's seat, seething. The Dixon brothers were most definitely not well-liked around camp to say the least. Merle was the worst kind of human being Jordyn had ever met. He was an unhinged racist, a sexist pig who prayed on all the women at camp, and everything bad about humanity rolled into one guy who always carried a loaded rifle. So by default, his brother was just as much an outcast as Merle. They mostly kept to themselves and everyone preferred to leave them alone. Now it was Merle that had unexpectedly brought them all together.

Rick hadn't wanted to take Jordyn along. He didn't say why, but the pitying looks she got from him said enough. He didn't think she could handle it. She didn't care; it wouldn't be long before she proved him wrong. He wasn't the first person to make the wrong assumption about her. Jordyn was on the shorter side, at twenty-seven most people towered over her, but it had never really bothered her. Small statures ran in her family, her mother was one of the few people shorter than Jordyn. Her hair had always been dark chocolate in colour (another family trait), thin and often worn in a ponytail because of her job. Her tawny eyes stood out on her round face and her willowy frame gave her a very placid appearance, often leading to the assumption that she was approachable and friendly.

Before the Walkers showed up, that assumption would have been accurate. She didn't like to think about how much all of this had changed her.

Glenn had a unique knowledge of Atlanta and called out turns to Rick to get them to the department store that had become a relatively safe place for them. Glenn had managed to find a way in and out through access tunnels and fire escapes that kept them all clear off the ground away from the Walkers. The group had been travelling to the department store for canned foods, medicines, even clothes. It was a huge, multi-level structure relatively untouched by the drama that had massacred the streets. So far the Walkers hadn't managed to infiltrate many of the well protected department stores and supermarkets. It was possibly the only good thing about the bulk of society being undead; they didn't eat or need medication.

From what Jordyn had been told, Glenn's rescue of Rick had severely compromised their department hideout. This would be the last time they travelled there and hopefully Merle was still chained up on the roof.

The van slid over a pothole, making Jordyn cling tighter to her rifle. When the world had ended, Jordyn had been one of the many regular citizens who had to quickly become knowledgeable about weapons. Before everything went to hell, she'd worked in a bar and had basic training using the ancient shotgun her boss kept under the counter. There was only one occasion that she actually had to use it but even then the mere image of the gun had sent the thief running before she'd fired it.

It was a strange feeling to have just been trained with a weapon that she rarely had opportunity to use and to now never leave her tent without her rifle and ammo. She'd shot and killed more people in the past few months than she ever imagined she'd need to. The fact that they were Walkers (the undead, zombies, monsters, etc) eased her guilt over time. She wasn't murdering _people_; she was gunning down flesh-hungry shells of humanity who wanted to rip her throat out and turn her into one of them. It made pulling the trigger easier.

"Stop by the railroad." Glenn called out to Rick as he pulled off the main road. "We'll have to walk from here."

They were all well aware that noise drew the Walkers out, so the five of them were silent as they exited the van and headed up the train tracks towards the city.

A couple of months ago, Jordyn would be looking for signs of life, other survivors or people who needed help. Now, they were either dead, undead, or had cleared out and headed for one of the rumoured evacuation camps. Rick was the first living survivor Jordyn had seen in weeks. She'd stopped looking for people who needed help.

Rick and Glenn lead the way as they made their way over a chain link fence. In the distance, Jordyn could see some Walkers swaggering back and forth in the street; simply existing and doing nothing more.

The department store was two blocks into the city; Jordyn could see it from where they were, but it wasn't as simple as going through the entrance. Glenn's way in was through an alleyway, up a fire escape and in through an air conditioning vent on the roof. Jordyn had been this way a few times before with Glenn and Shane, and whoever else dared to make the trip from camp. But there was a different feeling about it this time. Their safe department store wasn't safe anymore. Walkers were dumb, but they could crash through glass and keep stumbling on. If nothing more; they were resilient.

Bringing up the rear of the group was Jordyn along with T-Dog. She admired him for coming; he was still nursing wounds from his last visit with Merle who had unleashed verbal, racial and physical assault on him. Andrea had relayed the fight for her younger sister, Amy, and Jordyn the night before. She'd said Merle was threatening all of them and Rick saved the day. Jordyn supposed that was one of the reasons why T-Dog was accompanying them. Glenn knew the streets and was there at Rick's request.

Jordyn had come for her own reasons. Rick was new; she didn't fully trust him. And she felt better following him around and making sure he was the kind of guy he claimed to be rather than patrolling the camp perimeter in the sun waiting to see if any Walkers would make the trek up the mountain. Plus, she liked Glenn and T-Dog. She was interested in keeping them around; even if it did mean rescuing Merle and suffering through his rants.

First up the fire escape was Glenn, followed by Rick and then Daryl. T-Dog made Jordyn go next and waited until she was a few rungs up before he followed her. They quickly sprinted across the roof and were in the depths of the department store's air conditioning unit minutes later.

Rick had Daryl nearby with his crossbow; it was a quieter weapon than either Rick or Jordyn's guns. T-Dog was nursing a probably broken rib and Glenn carried nothing more than his backpack.

Clicking his fingers at Daryl, Rick pointed out a female Walker stumbling near the register.

"You're one ugly skank..." Daryl muttered as he lined up an arrow and fired it right into her skull. She collapsed in a heap before she seemed to register that they were all there.

Jordyn couldn't shake the creepy feeling that she was being watched as she carefully followed Daryl down the aisles as they headed for the stairs to the roof. The double glass entrance doors were completely smashed through and the abhorred stench of the undead was still in the air. The bulk of them were gone, unable to find anything to eat.

That was unless they'd managed to get to Merle.

If she was thinking it, Jordyn was sure everyone else was. That they'd get to the roof and Merle would be half-eaten or perhaps already a Walker. Jordyn was prepared for death; it was an inevitable consequence of her life now. But she was yet to get used to seeing someone she knew as a zombie; even if it was a man she most definitely wouldn't miss.

Even with all she was expecting, Jordyn didn't know how to react to what they did find on the roof.

Merle was nowhere to be seen. His hand, however, was lying in a puddle of blood underneath a pair of broken handcuffs and a bloody hacksaw.

"No..." Daryl's eyes darted around the roof; searching for his brother. "No!" He yelled out to the sky. "No! No! No!"

Jordyn wasn't sure what to do. If it had been anyone else she might have known what to say, but the Dixon guys were not ones for conversation at the best of times. Anything she said was likely to be retaliated with an insult. She found it strange; she'd seen more emotion in Daryl in the past two hours than in the whole time she'd known him. But then again, she'd been alone from the start of all this. Daryl had always had his brother.

His anger quickly escalated to furious grief. He spun around and aimed his crossbow directly between T-Dog's eyes making him flinch but not stand down. T-Dog remained collected even with a weapon to his head.

Just as fast, Rick had his pistol at Daryl's forehead. On instinct, Jordyn aimed her gun at Daryl, too. The sound of her aiming it incited a dark glare from her target; his piercing blue eyes were cold and made her uncomfortable, but she didn't break her gaze.

"I won't hesitate." Rick threatened. "I don't care if every damn Walker in the city hears."

Daryl looked away from Jordyn, eyes squinting back tears and swallowing hard. He lowered his crossbow, and turned back somewhat apologetically to T-Dog. "You got a do-rag or somethin'?" He asked.

Clenching his jaw, T-Dog reached into his pocket, pulled out a patterned rag and handed it to Daryl who proceeded to carefully kneel before his brother's hand and gently wrap it up in the rag. He was mumbling that the blade must have been too blunt to cut through the cuffs, so instead Merle had sliced off his hand.

"Must have used a tourniquet." He said. "Maybe his belt..." Much to Glenn's obvious disgust, Daryl stored his brother's hand in Glenn's backpack. "There'd be much more blood if he didn't."

Having seen a lot of people die, Jordyn knew he was right. There was a small pool of blood under the cuffs where the hand had been but other than that, there were just drops smattered across the rooftop towards a door behind the air vents. Daryl started to follow the drops.

T-Dog stayed behind to gather up the tools while the rest of the group followed Merle's path. The door led to a stairwell, thankfully empty. The nearest fire escape led them inside the building, some sort of office complex that seemed eerily like a ghost town. A place like this would be bustling during a normal day, lights on, printers running, phones ringing, but now it was just dead. As dead as the Walker who was ambling back and forth in the corner office Jordyn passed. She assumed he had once worked here. His suit seemed to match the surroundings. Maybe there was a memory of this place in his mind, Jordyn wondered as she raised her rifle to the Walker. Or maybe he was just stuck.

The Walker's head split open and he fell in a heap beside the window, but Jordyn hadn't pulled her trigger yet.

"Don't be stupid." Daryl grunted, pushing past her and retrieving his arrow from the corporate zombie's skull. "The echo would bring out every Walker in this building."

Jordyn didn't reply. She wasn't sure if he was insulting her or just making a comment, but she didn't care to find out. As she edged into the hallway she saw that T-Dog had joined up with them again with the hefty case of tools in his hand. The group made their way into what appeared to be a lobby and were confronted by two Walkers; already dead with a spanner lying between their bodies.

"He had enough in him to take these two out," Daryl said with nervous optimism as he reloaded his crossbow. "Toughest sonuvabitch I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer and he'd crap out nails."

"Any man can pass out from blood loss." Rick pointed out. "No matter how tough he is."

They kept going, deeper into the building towards what appeared to be a kitchen. A flickering light drew them in. One of the burners on the stove to the right was switched on; a small flame was still alight. There were blood drops all over the floor and a burnt swatch of leather that looked to Jordyn like a belt. There was some sort of flat iron next to the stove with something black and sticky all over it.

"What is that? That burnt stuff?" Jordyn asked as Rick picked up the iron, trying to ignore the flips her stomach was doing.

"Skin." Rick said, blanching. "He cauterized his stump."

Glenn turned a sickly shade of pale and looked away.

"Told you he was tough," Daryl said. "Ain't nobody who can kill Merle but Merle."

"He's lost a lot of blood." Rick set the iron back down.

Something at the window caught Daryl's eye. "Didn't stop him from bustin' out of this death trap." He led them to a pile of broken glass and a hole where the window pane would have been. There was also a towel soaked red with blood.

"He left the building?" Glenn, still pale, managed to find his voice. "Why would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl retorted. "He thinks he's alone. He _is_ alone. Doing what he's gotta do. Survivin'."

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog spoke up. "Wandering out in the streets and passing out? What are his chances out there?"

"No worse than being left here to rot by you sorry pricks!" Daryl flared up again, going nose to nose with Rick this time. "You couldn't kill him. I ain't much worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about a thousand dumb, dead bastards?" Rick asked coolly. "Different story?"

Daryl didn't press the matter. "Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want; I'm gonna get him."

Now it was Rick's turn to get angry. "Daryl, wait!" He pushed him against his chest.

"Get your hands off me!" Daryl hollered, shoving Rick backwards. "You can't stop me!"

"I don't blame you." Rick suddenly sounded calm and sincere. "He's family. I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel." He sighed. "He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but _only_ if we keep a level head."

Daryl tensed, but didn't react. Instead he nodded. "I can do that."

"We get the guns first." T-Dog spoke up. "I ain't wanderin' around the city with just my good intentions."

"Agreed." Jordyn said. "We could split up; two groups?" She suggested. "Those of us with weapons could go out and get the guns, bring them back here?"

"And what do we do if those things grab you?" T-Dog raised his eyebrows. "No, I don't think we should split up."

"I can go." Glenn suddenly piped up. "I know the streets. I could navigate my way to the guns and back."

"That's too dangerous." Rick said firmly.

"I got you out of that tank." Glenn reminded him.

Jordyn shook her head, she liked Glenn too much to lose him on such an inept plan. "You're not doing that."

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much." Daryl added.

"It's a good idea." Glenn assured them, setting his bag down and grabbing a handful of items of a desk nearby. "Hear me out."

One of the items he took was a pen, he started to draw a map on the linoleum floor. "If we go up there in a group; we're slow. We'd draw attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look," He placed a large bulldog clip in the centre of his map. "That's the tank." He set a small scrunched up piece of paper next to it. "That's the bag of guns." He pointed to the street beside the tank. "This is the alley where we first met. That's where Daryl, Jordyn and I will go."

Daryl looked puzzled. "Why me?"

"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun."

"It's quieter than mine, too." Jordyn admitted.

"You give yours to T-Dog," Glenn instructed her. "I'll need you to stand guard at the gate, make sure nothing crosses my path on the way back. And I'll need help with the guns. You're fast, too." He used a pen cap as her marker on the map. "You wait here, Daryl," A paperclip. "You'll be in the alley."

Jordyn wasn't happy with the idea of handing over her rifle; she'd had it since the second day of all this crap. But if belligerent Darryl could play nice, and T-Dog could put aside his hate for Merle, then she could adapt for one trip without her gun. Slowly, she nodded in agreement to Glenn.

"And what about us?" Rick motioned to himself and T-Dog.

"You'll be here." Glenn placed an eraser a couple of blocks from the bulldog-tank.

"Two blocks away?" Rick looked puzzled. "Why?"

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off." Glenn explained. "If that happens I won't go back to Daryl, I'll go forward instead. All the way to the alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I've got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards we'll all meet back here."

"Hey kid," Daryl spoke up. "What you do before all this?"

"Delivered pizzas." He answered. "Why?"

If Jordyn had been in a better mood; she would have laughed.


	2. Timid Without A Hand

_AN: Shorter than chapter 1; but chapter 3 shall be longer. Special thanks to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
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**Chapter 2: Timid Without A Hand**

A cacophony of sirens blared in Jordyn's eardrums. She drew her hands away from her tear-streaked face and covered her ears, crouching into a tight ball, hoping she would disappear. Two still bodies lay at the bottom of the basement stairs ahead of her. They were hardly recognizable anymore.

Jordyn wasn't sure that what she had seen was real. The snarling, the moaning, the blood spilling from their mouths. They had been people but not anymore. They had looked possessed. Like animals.

After locking the basement door, Jordyn had retreated to the corner and there she still sat; annoyed that she couldn't stop her muscles from twitching and her breath from coming in quick puffs. She kept thinking of the shotgun, her boss's shotgun. He kept it upstairs under the bar for unruly patrons. Jordyn had only used it once, and that was a test shot. But she suddenly wanted it; needed the security she felt it would give her.

Before she could even attempt to calm herself, a loud cracking of splintering wood made her jump.

A man burst through the basement door . He was built like a football player, he had shaggy black hair and was wearing a rumpled sheriff's uniform. He eyed the bodies by the stairs and then spotted Jordyn. "You!" He pointed his shotgun at her. "Were you bit?"

"No! No!" Jordyn managed to reply as she stared down the barrel of his shotgun. Fear rippled over her already trembling limbs; she'd never had a gun pulled on her before.

"Is there water or food down here?" He asked. His eyes were still flared but he lowered his weapon.

Jordyn pointed to the shelf to her left where there was a couple of cases of bottled water. It had been there for awhile, bottled water wasn't as big a demand as beer in a sports bar. But it was sealed.

"Come on." He reached his hand down to her. "Get up, let's go."

"What?" Jordyn asked, eying his Sheriff's badge.

"You can't stay here, they're swarming the city." His voice was commanding, but there was a ripple of uncertainty in his words. "Know how lucky you are to have just met two?"

Jordyn's breath caught in her throat. "I can't-"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "Move!" He instructed, pulling her over to the shelf with the water on it. He took two cases and loaded them into Jordyn's arms. "Carry this. My truck's outside with a woman and her son in the back. Just run, I'll cover you."

"No, I can't!" Jordyn's eyes flicked over to the bodies again. "I have to stay here."

He took her shoulder tightly in his hand. "Run." He instructed pushing her towards the stairs. "RUN!"

Forcing herself to focus on the staircase and nothing more, Jordyn gripped her fingers around the cases of water and ran.

* * *

><p>The memory of the first time Jordyn met Shane, Lori, and Carl often replayed in her mind. If she ever had a spare second to think about how on earth she'd gotten to this place in her life, meeting Shane was the first thought she had. That was how it began for her, all in the basement of her former workplace. Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she'd just stayed home that day. She didn't have time to wonder, not right now.<p>

Of all the strange things that had happened, Jordyn was constantly assuring herself she'd seen the weirdest of the weird. And then something else would happen. It had just happened to her group. The trek to get the guns hadn't been without incident, a gang came out of nowhere, snatched Glenn and left one of their own behind. Rick had led his friends, armed and ready, to rescue Glenn from the gang, only to find that they weren't at all what they expected. They were just more survivors who stayed in the abandoned hospital taking care of the elderly who had been left behind. They were good people. Helpful people. Glenn was returned unharmed, and Rick left them some guns to protect their numerous elderly patients.

So, group back together and extra guns in hand, they headed back for the van they'd driven into the city. But it wasn't there.

The group of five stood dumbfounded starting at the space where there van had been. Jordyn, despite herself, was the first to speak. "Who the hell would take our van?" She asked, looking around as though the robber would spring out of nowhere and just toss her back the keys.

"Merle." As soon as Rick said it, they all knew it was true.

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp." Daryl sounded almost apologetic.

"We gotta move." Rick said, taking off. "Fast."

Glenn and Rick took the lead, Jordyn and T-Dog followed a behind setting a wide berth between them. "This was such a waste of time." Daryl muttered under his breath as the group jogged across the train lines. "Merle's still gone, we gave half our guns away and the kid almost got himself killed."

Jordyn was distracted trying to get her rifle strap untwisted. T-Dog had managed to wind it around on itself in knots. "Well, we got Connor back." She shrugged smoothing out her strap and looping her rifle over shoulder, vaguely aware that T-Dog was eyeballing her. "And at least we got some of the guns, so..."

"Keep up." Rick instructed from up ahead as he lead them up the hill towards the main road out of town. "It'll be getting dark soon."

After an hour of nothing but heavy breathing and scuffing boots, the group finally reached the top of the incline and were all relieved to find their feet on relatively flat ground. Their formation had spread out, Rick and Glenn in the lead, Daryl and Jordyn in the middle and T-Dog at the rear, struggling with the box of tools promised to Dale and Jim. "Do you really think your brother is still alive?" She asked Daryl out of curiosity.

Daryl flashed her an angry glare. "Yeah." He said coldly. "We ain't found his body and the van's missing, so he ain't dead." He licked the inside of his bottom lip. "Is Connor dead?"

Jordyn's feet froze on the spot and snapped her head around to face him. "Excuse me?"

"Before." Daryl stopped just ahead of her. "You were talking 'bout Glenn and you called him Connor." He started walking again. "He your husband?"

Coughing over the lump in her throat, Jordyn followed him trying to seem nonchalant. She didn't remember saying Connor but she sure as hell wouldn't have talked about him with anyone. But before she could come up with an excuse, a multitude of screams rang through the forest up ahead.

"Shit." Rick took off. "Everyone move!"

Jordyn slung her rifle over her shoulder so she could run faster and bolted after Rick. The screams were quickly drowned out by gunfire and urgent voices screaming orders. It was their camp; it had to be. There was no one else on the mountain.

As she ran, Jordyn found herself hoping that it was just Merle scaring everyone. She didn't like him in the slightest, but one mad racist would have been easier to handle instead of the scene she ran into.

There were Walkers everywhere. Snarling, groaning, hungry Walkers. Jordyn had never seen so many up on the mountain at one time. They were all in various states of decomposition, many without limbs and greyish skin dangling off their bones. Their glassy eyes were as intent as Jordyn had ever seen, and she realized that was because they were starving. She knew first hand that the city was overrun with the dead; so now the Walkers were breaking out of the city in search of human flesh. Suddenly, Jordyn became very aware of how close their camping site was to the city. They could still see the buildings, the highway, even some power lines. They should have kept going, kept moving deeper into the jungle or further away from Atlanta.

Pausing to catch her breath and arm her rifle, Jordyn barely dodged the decaying arm that struck out of the bush beside her, clawing for her. A Walker then fully burst out of the brush right by her head, she smacked the butt of her rifle across what was left of its slacken jaw and kicked it to the ground before firing a bullet straight through its head. Her ears buzzed with sound of gunshots and hungry, non-human moans. Before she even moved from her spot she aimed and fired at two zombies approaching Dale's camper where the bulk of their camp were gathered. But as Jordyn loaded up her rifle she could already see members of their group scattered across the ground either dead or dying.

Jordyn's eyes scanned who was still standing as she aimed her weapon and took down three more Walkers. The group she'd travelled in with were all there, as were Lori and Carl, Sophia and her mother, Jacqui, Jim, Dale, the whole Morales family, and Andrea. As Jordyn approached the camper she realized Amy was there, too. Jordyn's eyes investigated every shadow and rustling she encountered as she approached the camper. She didn't turn around when she heard Carl scream for his father and, out of the corner of her eye, saw him fling himself into Rick's arms. Instead Jordyn's eyes fell on Amy and the visible pain etched across Andrea's face.

Amy was clearly dead. She bled from bite marks to her arm and neck. Andrea was covered in her sister's blood; sobbing loudly over her limp body.

Another lump formed in Jordyn's throat and her eyes felt hot. Another death. Another lost friend. Another body to bury. Her mind cruelly showed her Connor again; and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming in pain. But she didn't say a word, or make a sound. She was silent Jordyn Emery and she intended to stay that way.


	3. Fear & Suspicion

_AN: Special thanks to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
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**Chapter 3: Fear & Suspicion **

The bright morning sun seemed to be a burning insult when Jordyn awoke the next day. The group had all been sleeping in shifts in Dale's camper, Jordyn checked her watch and calculated she must have been asleep for a couple of hours; though she felt like she hadn't slept at all. She knew everyone else must have felt the same. Avoiding the inevitable task ahead of them: burying the dead and undead around them.

Jordyn exited the camper and saw Andrea in exactly the same place she had been the night before, clutching Amy's hand and staring hopelessly at her body. Amy's skin had started to go an off-white colour but Andrea wouldn't leave her, and the look that Lori gave Jordyn when she approached her said that she wasn't planning on leaving her any time soon.

Handing her a bottle of water, Lori led Jordyn away from Andrea. "She's not even talking. We figure we'll leave her there until...until we have to."

Until she turned into a Walker. Jordyn knew that's what she meant.

The camp was as busy as Jordyn had ever seen it at this time of the morning but she tension she felt in the air was palpable. Everyone was on edge as they cleared out the bodies that still littered the ground from the massacre of the night before. People were obviously handling it in different ways. Jacqui and Miranda had all the kids together away from all the bodies, distracting them with folding clothes. Carol was sitting alone, missing her husband Ed, abusive as he was. He'd been killed the night before. Dale was watching Andrea closely and while Jim, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl took up the task of hoarding the dead.

Daryl seemed quite into it; taking a pickaxe to the skulls of every walker to ensure their demise, after which Glenn and T-Dog would carry the body to a growing fire on the crest of the hill near the camper. Sweat glistened off each one of them, Jordyn wondered if they'd been working all night.

It was unspoken, but everyone knew they were moving on today. Or tonight. However long it took to bury their dead but they wouldn't be staying any longer. Not with Walkers coming in from the city, their hunger was driving them out.

Jordyn felt extremely conflicted about leaving the city for good. For now, she still considered herself in Atlanta. If they moved on she was almost certain she'd never be back again. The thought made Jordyn sicker than any of the bodies scattered around her.

Trying to figure out where she could help, Jordyn noticed Jim and Daryl struggling with a man's body; one of their crew. Jordyn felt a new wave of guilt when she couldn't remember his name, but she did remember that he'd made her laugh once or twice.

"What are you guys doing?" Glenn spotted them moving the man towards the fire. "This is for Geeks!" He was livid. "Our people go over there!"

"What's the difference?" Daryl said cold-heartedly. "They're all infected."

Glenn stood right up to him. "Our people go in that row over there." He said, his voice shaking. "We don't _burn_ them!" He unashamedly let the emotion show on his young face. "We bury them. Understand?" He took a few deep breaths. "Our people go in that row over there." He ordered again, watching them every step as they carried the body to rest by the others set to be buried.

"Y'all reap what you sew." Daryl said as he roughly dropped the body in line. "Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" Fuming; he stormed off leaving Jordyn and Glenn to do the heavy lifting.

It wasn't the first time Jordyn had hauled dead bodies; she hoped she'd never get used to it. She gave Glenn a supportive hand on the shoulder when he passed her after they tossed a Walker onto the fire.

And then everything went nuts.

Jacqui started screaming that Jim had been bitten. Everyone circled him, clutching various weapons. Daryl came back with his pickaxe, Shane and Rick had guns, Jordyn felt anxious again; she'd taken off her rifle to help Glenn shift the bodies.

"Show it to us!" Daryl ordered Jim, whose face had drained of colour.

T-Dog swiftly grabbed Jim around the back and held him by his arms, giving Daryl the chance to lift up his shirt revealing a fresh, bleeding bite mark across Jim's chest.

"I'm okay...I'm okay..." Jim said weakly, looking at each of them for help. "I'm okay...I'm okay..."

* * *

><p>Jordyn hated being in the basement at work. It didn't have windows, so it didn't have circulation, so it stunk like an old shoe. There were holes in the plaster walls, not enough to break through to the outside, but enough to get a good view of the interior of the wall. Jordyn had attempted cleaning the basement once, but she just became overpowered by the fumes from the cleaning products. Now, as well as a storage room for the items her boss, Ted, bought but never seemed to sell, it was an office where Ted kept all his work related paperwork.<p>

Ted had assured Jordyn that this was where her paycheque would be. Having originally sent her a bill to the gas company, he deduced that he must have filed her cheque where he normally stashed the other gas bills; first drawer of the ancient desk shoved up against the basements left wall.

It wasn't the only time her cheque had been lost; the first time it had happened she thought it was Ted's way of buying himself more time because he didn't have the cash to pay her. But she soon learned that Ted was quite financially stable, and just absent-minded.

Sirens sounded off in the distance, Jordyn had heard them constantly on the drive to the bar but she didn't see any danger, there were no police in the streets. Everyone just looked confused, but they were going about their day as normal.

At the back of the first desk drawer Jordyn found a stack of envelopes bound together with an elastic band. She started flicking through them searching for her name when out of the corner of her eye she saw a raggedy orange tail streak down the stairs.

"Izzy!"

Ted's cat. Or rather, the stray that Ted had started feeding and now lived in the upstairs break room/kitchen. Izzy was very spoiled but Ted's one rule was to keep her from the basement because he was worried she'd get stuck in the wall cavity. Dropping the handful of letters, Jordyn hurried after the cat.

"Izzy, no!" She made a kissing noise under her breath. "Come back, you stupid thing, come on." Izzy had crawled her way behind a rickety shelf that held old paint cans and rusted tools that Jordyn had not once seen Ted use on anything.

Not able to reach Izzy through the shelves, Jordyn tried to entice her out by pretending she had food in her hand. Izzy didn't budge. She just sat, hunched down, orange ears pointed back and turquoise eyes wide, staring up at the roof. Jordyn groaned, this was a reason she disliked cats. They saw things that weren't there; it was unnerving.

"_Izzy_." Jordyn was getting impatient but if she left the cat she knew it would make a beeline for the hole in the wall. She always did. The wall was on Ted's list of things to get fixed, but his band-aid solution for now was just to keep Izzy out of the basement.

Jordyn's heart skipped a beat when a loud crashing from upstairs caught her off guard. Izzy hissed and hunched further into the corner.

"Jesus." Jordyn swore and craned her neck to peer up the stairs. "Connor? Was that you?" It had sounded like something heavy had been tipped over or dropped. "Connor? Get down here and help me with this cat!"

Izzy hissed again and made a grumbling growling noise.

"Alright, fine. You win." Jordyn got to her feet and went back to the desk to get the letters. She kept hearing scraping noises upstairs, but it didn't worry her. Connor was never one to stand still.

What did worry her was Izzy. Usually when the cat saw an out she took it; she was a sneaky little bugger. And Jordyn was used to chasing her in and out of rooms she shouldn't have been in. But right now she did nothing. She didn't move; just sat there in the corner glaring at the roof.

The second last envelope had Jordyn's name scribbled on it so she pocketed it and went back to the cat.

"What is with you? Are you hurt?" She knelt down and reached in to grab Izzy by the scruff of her neck and was met with another growl and a swipe of claw that left a mark on the back of her hand but didn't break the skin.

"Oh, you evil thing." Jordyn pulled her hand back and slapped her hands on her knees. "Fine! Stay down here and get stuck in the wall."

Slow footsteps descended down the stairs behind her. "Connor, did you let Izzy-" Jordyn turned to face him but found that it wasn't Connor at all. It was a woman she didn't recognize. And it wasn't because she couldn't place her face; it was because half of her face was missing.

The sight was so shocking Jordyn's stomach flipped and she stumbled back into the shelf, causing the paint tins to shudder and Izzy to run hissing out of her hiding spot straight for the hole in the wall.

The woman looked dead; Jordyn couldn't think of anything but a corpse as her eyes rounded at the view of the ashen skinned person missing the left side of her face. Her tangled mess of blonde hair was caked with mud and dry blood, her formerly white dress was stained in shades of murky red and brown. She had bleeding wounds on her ankles and her wrists and one big chunk of skin missing from her collarbone.

"Ma'am?" Jordyn's hands groped the shelves behind her for some sort of weapon. Her fingers ran across the cool metal of a hammer which she gripped in her fist. "What happened to you?"

White Dress answered with an inhuman growl. The woman's eyes were slate gray and unfocused, yet she seemed to round in on Jordyn with ease. Her neck jerked at strange angles like she was suffering muscular ticks. She growled again and lunged forward.

"_Ugnh_!" Jordyn grunted as she struck the woman across the jaw with the hammer. She fell to the ground but didn't make any audible signs that she was in pain. "Connor!" Jordyn yelled up the stairs. "Are you okay?" She started to run but instead went face first into the staircase. Through the slates of the stairs Jordyn could see White Dress had snatched her ankle and was pulling her foot towards her snarling mouth. Jordyn flung herself onto her back and shook her leg free.

White Dress started to claw her body across the ground, so Jordyn sprang to her feet and sent a solid kick right into the woman's half-decayed head. Hoping at most just to knock her out, Jordyn watched in horror as the woman's head snap clean off and rolled across the floor like a grotesque basketball.

Now frantic, Jordyn clutched the staircase banister and looked up to the open basement door. "Connor!" She cried, needing to steady herself.

"What?" He appeared in the doorway looking terrified and clutching his arm.

Jordyn noticed the frantic, worried look in his hazel eyes. "What happened?"

Connor pulled back and pulled up his sweatshirt sleeve. "She bit me."

* * *

><p>Burying their friends, people they had lived with and laughed with, was tough on everybody. Amy's body was the last to be placed, Andrea refused all help offered to her and set her sister in a grave on her own.<p>

It was a silent moment for everyone, a break between what had happened and what was about to happen. The decision had been made, they were going in search of the CDC to try and get Jim some help. Rick had heard the CDC was working on a cure, and Shane deduced that if they set up shop anywhere it would be the army base at Fort Benning, 100 miles from where they were.

Jordyn wandered back to camp after Andrea. A day before Amy would have had the three of them in conversation. Now Jordyn didn't know what to say to her, so she said nothing. Back at their campsite everyone started packing up, the plan was to leave at first light in the morning.

At first light the next morning, they started to leave. The Morales family had decided not to come with them, they had family they wanted to try and reach in Birmingham. Rick gave them a loaded gun, and reminded them they were on channel 40 of the CB radio if they changed their mind.

There were tears and hugs between most of the women, the mothers. Sophia hugged Eliza Morales and tearfully took the doll she handed to her. Jordyn watched them feeling a strange pang of guilt run through her. She didn't hug anyone. And they didn't hug her. Jordyn momentarily wondered if she had bothered to get to know the Morales family better; if they would have offered her a ride.

Instead she found herself climbing into Merle Dixon's truck beside Daryl. She opted to carpool with him knowing he was the least likely to engage her in conversation, and she didn't want to be jostling around in the back of Dale's van with Jim being infected.

All too soon, they were leaving their home for the past few months. Dale was in the lead, carrying Glenn, Jacqui and Jim, then Rick was driving his family as well as Carol and her daughter. T-Dog and Andrea followed him his van, then Daryl and Jordyn carting Daryl's motorcycle in the back, and Shane brought up the rear in his jeep.

Leaning her arm against the open window frame, Jordyn contemplated where they were heading next. If the CDC was really there, really working on a cure, maybe it was the best place to go. Her heart told her differently, told her to stay put and go back home. To search. But she was scared of what she would find. Too scared to be strong and find a way past the mental block she'd put up in her mind.

Not one for relying on a chance, Jordyn wasn't thrilled at the risk they were taking heading into a populated zone they hadn't been to before. She was putting a lot of trust in Rick, whom she didn't know that well. But Lori trusted him, and Jordyn trusted Lori. No matter what she thought, it was an opportunity and it was the first one she'd had since they'd had to flee the city. If they got to the army base and Rick was wrong, then they'd be in no worse shape than they were now.

But if he was right, Jordyn was sure it was where she'd find out what happened to her little sister.


	4. Time Goes Away

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
><strong>

**Chapter 4: Time Goes Away**

Jordyn felt like she was in a daze. She didn't know if it was the rhythmic motion of the car travelling along a dirt road, the warm but comforting breeze that swirled through the truck's open windows, or even the fragrant smell of spring in the air, but she felt almost intoxicated.

It had been awhile since she'd travelled in a car simply to _travel_. The last time was their unsuccessful trek back into Atlanta to get Merle, and every time before that was a supply run and she'd only been on a few of them. Shane didn't like taking too many people away from the group at one time. But driving for hours at a steady speed on empty, open roads felt almost like a dream.

They were travelling through an abandoned small town when Daryl broke the silence. "You got the time?"

Jordyn blinked a few times, she'd been daydreaming, and checked her watch. "Midday... ish." She replied.

"That all?" He huffed adjusted his grip on his steering wheel. "Feels like we've been driving forever."

Eyes on the horizon, Jordyn wondered how far away from her home they were. How far away from the bar...

"You don't talk much, do ya?"

"Sometimes, if I drink too much." Jordyn answered. She hadn't intended it as a joke but she saw Daryl smirk. It was then noticed the car had a clock that read the same as her watch, and wondered if Daryl had just asked her the time to have something to do.

"You don't wear a ring." Daryl said a few moments later.

Jordyn glanced over at him. "I'm not married."

"So who's Connor?"

Sighing, Jordyn stared at the horizon. The sun was hanging gloriously in the air lighting up the mountain peaks. It was peaceful. She could shut up, not say another word. But Daryl would keep asking, and she preferred he knew the truth and left her alone than kept on bugging her. Even if the truth was the reason for the hollow ache in her heart. "He was my little brother." She said distantly. "And I killed him."

* * *

><p>"She bit you?" Jordyn took Connor's arm and inspected the bite mark. It was deep, she didn't know how Connor wasn't crying because it looked horribly painful. "Why?"<p>

"I-I dunno." Connor sniffled, spotting the headless body of the woman. "Is that her?"

"Ok, stop, don't look." Jordyn spun him around, covered his eyes with her hand and led him back upstairs, kicking shut the basement door behind her. Sitting him at the bar, Jordyn's eyes drifted out the open window. The sirens were still blaring and the back door was swinging back and forth.

"She came in there." Connor said. "What's wrong with her?"

Jordyn locked the back door and grabbed the first aid kit from under the registers behind the bar. "She's sick." Jordyn told him, not sure how else to say it. She took a stack of bandages from the kit and grabbed the cordless phone, dialling 9-1-1 as she approached her little brother. "You'll be fine." She took an empty jug and filled it at the sink, holding the phone between her shoulder and ear.

_"We're sorry. Due to a high number of calls, we cannot process your request at this time. Please try again later."_

Puzzled, Jordyn hit redial and waited again, only to get the same response. "Come on." She tried once more, and this time all she got was an engaged signal. She gave up and focused on Connor's arm, even with three layers of bandage, the blood still seeped through. Pulling off his sweatshirt she held it against the wound to staunch the bleeding.

"Jordie, I'm thirsty." Connor said, sniffling.

"Ok," Jordyn secured a compression bandage around his whole forearm and hopped of the bar stool to thoroughly wash her hands, tossing the stained sweatshirt into the trashcan as she walked. Grabbing the phone again she dialled her mother and step-father's home number and was met with a novelty family answering machine message. Her mother, Olivia, and stepfather, Michael, had gone out for lunch and a movie hence Jordyn taking Connor for the day, so she didn't expect them home until late afternoon.

Calls to their cell phones ended in two voicemail messages, Jordyn assumed they were in the theatre. She didn't know how to get a hold of Marnie's teacher, her baby sister was at a school play rehearsal otherwise she would have been with Connor and Jordyn.

From the bar fridge Jordyn took a bottle of juice and dialled her bosses cell phone number. "Ted, hey, it's Jordyn." She said when she heard him pick up on the other end.

"Jordyn, are you alright?" Ted was yelling. "Where are you? Tell me you're out of the city!"

"No, I'm at work." Jordyn felt an odd feeling creeping up the back of her neck, she could count the times Ted had yelled on one hand. And all of them involved his favourite team losing a game. "Connor's hurt and I can't-"

"Are you watching the news? Jordyn, get out of the city!"

Jordyn thought he must be making a joke because he sure wasn't making sense. "Are you serious?"

"Look; Jordyn, I gotta go, my wife needs me to call her sister and we only have the one cell. Get out of the city, okay?"

"Ted-"

"Dani says she'll call you when we get to my folks house. Just get somewhere safe. And don't let them bite you!" He hung up on that dramatic statement.

Even more confused, Jordyn hung up. Dani had been her friend for a few years, it was through her that Ted gave her the job at the bar. Dani worked at the bar on alternating days than Jordyn. A miniature version of Ted, Dani took most of her traits from him except for the glorious red hair she'd inherited from her mother, Annie. Partially deaf after a bad car accident, Annie still continued giving piano lessons to children, Connor and Marnie Emery being two of her students.

Jordyn felt an odd relief that Dani was okay; odd because it suddenly dawned on her that something was very, very wrong. She retrieved the remote for the flat screen TV and clicked it on. A local news bulletin was streaming with a headline that read PANDEMIC ALERT: EVACUATION IN PROCESS.

"Pand... Panda..." Connor squinted at the words on the screen and tried to sound them out. "Panda-mike? What's that mean?"

Jordyn pushed a juice bottle into his hand. "Drink this." She instructed him as a list of Mandatory Instructions came up on the television screen.

_ 1. If you're inside; stay there and lock all doors and windows._  
><em> 2. Don't let anyone (familyfriends included) inside your home._  
><em> 3. Don't let an infected person bite you.<em>  
><em> 4. If infection does occur, isolate said person until authorities arrive.<em>

"Jordie, I was bitten!" Connor cried as the newsreader read through the list.

"It's okay," Jordyn said, although her hammering heart said otherwise. "Just... sit there. Stay there, okay?"

She left her brother fidgeting with his bandage and scurried around the room, shutting and locking every door and window. The bar was on the corner of a relatively unpopular street; but right now it was as busy as Jordyn had ever seen it. Cars were speeding past, people were screaming, and sirens were still echoing throughout the city. As she was shutting the high window above the jukebox, Jordyn saw a line of dark green army jeeps thunder through the streets filled with armed men in full military uniforms. It looked like a scene from a SWAT movie.

"Jordie?"

Jordyn hopped off the chair she'd used to reach the window and went to double check the back door. "Hang on."

"Jordie, I feel sick."

Tipping up a table on its side, Jordyn pushed it up against the back door. "Sick how?" She did another round of checking the windows.

"Just sick. And hot. And thirsty."

"Ok, buddy," Jordyn dashed back behind the counter and took an icing cup from the freezer. They kept the beer glasses in there so the beer was really chilled for the customers. Filling the glass with ice and then water, Jordyn set it in front of her brother. "There." She reached out and touched his forehead. "You're hot."

"I know." Connor said, gulping down the water.

"Connor, look at me." Jordyn held his chin in her hand and inspected his eyes, brushing strands of his honey blonde hair away from his face. His eyes were cloudy, like he'd just woken up or was coming down with a flu. He was sweating through his shirt and his skin on his injured arm was going an odd gray colour. "You need a doctor."

"Jordie." For the first time, Connor looked scared. His big brown eyes were tearful and he was breathing in deep breaths. "I want Mum."

"Come here," Jordyn plucked him up in her arms and hugged him to her body. "You'll be fine, buddy, you'll be fine." Holding him, she felt the heat emanating from his small body. "We'll go home soon, we just have to stay here for awhile, ok?" He didn't want to be set back down, so Jordyn carried him around the back of the bar and grabbed the phone again.

Twice more she tried her mother and stepfather with no answer. She wondered if they had been cleared out of the movie theatre. Maybe they were on their way to get her and Connor? Maybe they were picking up Marnie first, and then they'd come for Connor and Jordyn.

A loud crash made Jordyn squeeze Connor tight to her. Someone had thrown a garbage can through the front glass window. Two young men jumped inside, they each had a weapon but they didn't seem to notice Jordyn until Connor cried out.

"Where's the money?"

"The safe in the office." Jordyn told him, backing away from the door. "The key's on the second shelf under the countertop." The basement wasn't ideal seeing as how the headless woman was still in there, but she wasn't going to risk their lives for the few hundreds in the safe when Connor needed her.

The two men grabbed for bottles of liquor as well as the keys and continued on their thieving way. Jordyn backed into the basement and hovered on the top step, locking the basement door and holding still to see if the men had heard or seen her sneak away. After a few seconds of silence broken by the fizzing of open beer cans, Jordyn decided they were fine and hurried down into the basement with Connor clinging to her body.

Then someone screamed.

Bottles cracked to the floor, a man screamed out in pain, and more glass broke. Snarls and growls soon overtook the screams and suddenly, that's all that was left. The same noises White Dress had been making before Jordyn had decapitated her. Infected people were converging on the bar. And now with the front window clean open, there was nothing keeping them away.

"Jordie..." Connor was crying, staring at the headless body huddled at the bottom of the stairs.

"Don't look at it." Jordyn covered his eyes with her hand, feeling the searing heat come off his skin. She wished she'd grabbed the ice water, the first aid kit, the shotgun under the bar; she'd taken nothing useful with her. "Connor; I have to put you down, okay?"

"No." Connor gripped his arms around her neck.

"Just sit here." She placed him on the desk and put his small hands over his eyes. "I want you to time me, okay? Just start counting and when you get to thirty I'll be right back here with you."

With a shaky, timid voice, Connor started counting. Jordyn grabbed the desk chair and flew up the stairs with it, jamming it under the handle of the basement door. In the corner where Izzy had been hiding there was a stack of oiled rags, Jordyn grabbed them and tossed them over the severed head. The hammer she'd wielded before was still there so she armed herself with it again and also picked up a wrench off the shelf. It was rusted pretty good; but it was heavy.

Connor was at twenty-eight when Jordyn arrived back to him. Pulling him into her arms, she again felt how hot he was as he buried his head in her neck and cried. "I wanna go home, Mummy."

"I know, so do I." She shushed him and rested back against the desk before she'd realized what he said.

"Mummy, when's Daddy coming?"

"Connor?" Jordyn pulled him out over her lap and cradled him. His eyes wouldn't focus on her. "Hey, Connor, I'm Jordie, you know that. Mummy's not here yet."

"Mummy, take me home." He said tiredly.

"Jesus." Jordyn swore and sprang up off the desk over to the dusted shelves that held a few pallets of bottled water.

Water wasn't a big seller in a bar; Jordyn thought she and Dani were the people who used it most just snagging a bottle whenever they needed one. Taking a bottle from a half-empty pallet, Jordyn opened it and put it to Connor's chapping lips. He coughed up most of what she poured in, so she tried again.

"Connor, you have to drink this, ok?" She poured some of the water over his head, but it didn't make a difference to his fever. His injured arm was lying uselessly across his body. It was a ghoulish slate gray colour. His eyes kept closing and his breath was laboured.

Jordyn felt helpless. Her car was out the front, her keys were upstairs in her handbag, and from the sound of moaning and shuffling upstairs it was clear she was outnumbered by infected people. She should have grabbed the First Aid Kit, it must have had some sort of antibiotic in it, a pill or capsule. Something. Anything. She'd have to make a run through the bar.

Gently, she kissed Connor's searing forehead and laid him down carefully on the floor. She grabbed the hammer and steadied her breath as she marched up the stairs for the basement door. Shifting aside the chair blocking the handle, she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open so fast she almost lost her grip on it.

The bar was empty.

Exhaling loudly with her heart racing, Jordyn cautiously stepped forwards, awaiting someone to jump out and attack her. A chilled breeze from the broken window blew strands of hair across her face. Jordyn could see her bag on the edge of the bar and the First Aid Kit was just sitting out where she had left it. Edging out slowly, Jordyn kept darting her eyes around either side of her, waiting for someone or something to appear.

As she rounded the bar, Jordyn saw the cash register had been knocked to the ground and all the cash inside was gone. The more expensive liquor had been stolen and the cheaper cans were scattered along the floor. One-handed, not wanting to lower her hammer, Jordyn packed up the First Aid kit and tucked it under her arm. She had just reached the strap of her handbag when she saw the infected man ducked behind the jukebox.

He was feasting on someone else, a woman in a bright pink caftan. He didn't see Jordyn, he was too busy burying his blood-covered mouth into his victims stomach. Even though his back was to her, Jordyn could see the skin of his arms was the same ghoulish shade of gray as White Dress in the basement, and she could no longer ignore that Connor's skin was turning the same colour.

Silently pulling her bag off the bar, Jordyn backed towards the basement door hammer still gripped in her fist. The man kept snarling before he chomped into the woman for another bite, so every time he made that grotesque eating noise Jordyn took more steps back.

In the doorway of the basement she quietly set the First Aid Kit and her bag at her feet and pressed the door closed. Shaking with adrenaline, she kicked the chair back into place under the doorknob, grabbed her bag and the kit and hurried back to Connor. Only he wasn't there.

"Connor!" Jordyn called out in a loud whisper. Swearing under her breath, she dropped her things on the shelf beside the water pallet and took her hammer with both hands. "Please, Connor, where are you?" She kept her voice quiet and low. White Dress's body was still there, her head still covered a few feet away. Something creaked behind her. "Connor?" She spun around.

He was standing up, but on a strange angle like his back was broken. His head slumped against his shoulder and his formerly sparkling hazel eyes were dull and dreary. His jaw was clenched tight but his mouth was open, growling like an animal as he stared at his older sister. He took a shaky step towards her.

"Connor, honey, it's okay," Jordyn could hear the terror in her voice. "You'll be okay..." She let her sentence trail off because she knew it was a lie. Here was her baby brother, ten years old and a perfect angel, and he was hunting her. He was just the same as White Dress, the same as the man eating the body upstairs. He was infected. And he made a beeline for her.

With a scream that emanated from deep within her, Jordyn gripped the hammer and took a fatal swing at her little brother's skull.

* * *

><p>"You killed your own brother?"<p>

Daryl's accusatory voice annoyed Jordyn. Daryl hadn't been there. He didn't know. But she didn't care to argue. It wouldn't make her feel any better. "It was either that or let him kill me." She didn't add that often in her nightmares, that's what she let happen. That she dreamt that she died right there with Connor.

Maybe if Shane hadn't found her when he did she _would_ have died. Fate, some people might call it, is what saved her. She was meant to be found, meant to survive; but Jordyn didn't feel safe in a world where she was forced to live on after killing her brother.

"That why you came lookin' for Merle?

"Maybe..." Jordyn sighed and leant back against the headrest. Killing Connor was the reason for a lot of decisions she made in her life now. It was why she steered clear of Carl and Sophia, and if she was honest it was also the reason she'd put off going back and searching for Marnie. She'd faced one horrific consequence of this new zombie world already, she didn't want to have to do it all over again.


	5. The Danger's In The Waiting

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
><strong>

**Chapter 5: The Danger's In The Waiting**

Dale's caravan overheated another thirty minutes into the convoy. The hose was in pieces; the plan had been for him to take the one from the van Rick had commandeered out of Atlanta, but since that had gone to hell it was just layers of duck tape and hope that kept the hose together.

Up ahead Shane spied a gas station and took T-Dog with him in search of another vehicle they could strip the hose from. Everyone was gathered outside Dale's camper discussing Jim. He was in worse shape than before. Now he was having hallucinations. And during a brief stint of lucidity, he admitted to Rick that he wanted to be left behind.

Jordyn listened to the arguments back and forth. She didn't feel right about leaving Jim behind, but she felt worse about carrying an infected person along with them. Something Rick had repeated that Jim said was sticking with her, Jim wanted to be with his family. He'd lost them all already. With his present situation looking so perilous, it seemed like the most comforting option, especially when the flipside was turning into a zombie.

It was a notion Jordyn could identify with; she wanted to be with her family. But she knew that could never happen. Not in the way she wanted. Connor was gone, for sure. Her swift work with a hammer had seen to that. Her parents had been in the city when everything went to hell, and Jordyn knew it was worse deeper in the city than on the outskirts like she had been at the bar. And she had no idea where Marnie would be.

Shane and Rick helped Jim hobble from the campervan and led him up a slight incline to rest against a large tree trunk. He was in the shade and there was a cool breeze in the air. When he was settled, Jim looked the most comfortable than he'd been since he was bitten.

Everyone gathered around him. There was a general consensus that even though this is what Jim wanted, no one was game to leave him behind. Jacqui was the first to bid him a tearful goodbye, she'd been playing his nurse since his bite was discovered. Jacqui was taking his imminent demise the hardest. Rick was next, asking once again if Jim wanted a handgun. He declined. All that followed was a chorus of sad looks and apologies.

Surprisingly for Jordyn, Daryl was the last to follow. She didn't realize he was still staring at Jim until she looked back and saw him back away slowly from their infected friend with an mixed expression of conflict and dejection.

Jordyn didn't know Jim that well, and she knew Daryl even less, but she'd heard Daryl call him "Jimbo" on more than one occasion, and she wondered if they had been friends. He didn't say anything as he climbed into the driver's seat, he just kick started the engine and tailed slowly after Dale's camper.

Jordyn felt a strange ball of anxiety warm in her stomach as they drove further and further away from Jim. Only a day or so ago they had been a strong group of over twenty. Now they'd lost Amy, Merle, Jim, Ed, and the Morales family had taken off on their own. They were down to just over half their original crew. And it was thinning out fast.

* * *

><p>Jordyn's mind spun as she ran out into the street with her arms gripped around the cases of water. A pretty brunette signalled to her and then the man who had found her in the basement nudged her from behind urging her to run.<p>

There were people everywhere, but only when Jordyn got to the station wagon did she see that they were all in various states of infection. She didn't see anyone else who looked normal. The brunette took the water from Jordyn's arms and pushed her into the backseat of the vehicle next to a scared looking young boy.

Overcome with nausea, Jordyn closed her eyes and curled up in the backseat. She didn't open her eyes once as they sped throughout the city. Jordyn could hear sirens, screams, and even choppers overhead. There was a distant message via megaphone trying to direct citizens, but it didn't seem to be working. And from the way they were driving, Jordyn assumed they weren't following these rules.

Jordyn finally opened her eyes when the car stopped and she heard the driver get out. Peeking out the window she saw him approaching a crashed vehicle. At first Jordyn thought he was checking for survivors, but instead he started rifling through the supplies and luggage spilling from the trunk.

The brunette took a deep breath and exited the car. She opened the door by Jordyn and squatted before her with a bottle of water and a washcloth in her hands. "So, what's your name?" She asked kindly as she moistened the cloth.

Jordyn attempted to answer but her mouth wouldn't cooperate.

"I'm Lori." Lori had a mother's touch, gently she wiped the blood and dirt off Jordyn's skin with a damp rag. " This is my son, Carl. And you met Shane." She nodded towards the driver, heaving suitcases out of the trunk of the crashed car. "Were you hurt?"

Jordyn shook her head. Carl looked about Connor's age, so she refused to look at him too much.

"You're in shock, I get it." Lori said, scrubbing the grime off Jordyn's fingers. "People don't like talking when something bad happens. Maybe 'cos talking means it's real." She sighed. "And this doesn't feel real." She took out a clean cloth and started to clean Jordyn's face. "Did you lose your family back there?"

Gulping, Jordyn just stared towards the crashed car. She didn't see any bodies inside. Perhaps they'd already been infected and were wandering around...

"This yours?"

Glancing at Lori, Jordyn saw she had her handbag in her hands.

"Shane grabbed it," Lori explained, poking through it and pulled out a wallet. "Jordyn..." She said checking the driver's license. "Jordyn Emery." She smiled again. "It's nice to meet you."

On a normal day, Jordyn would have snatched her bag back and told Lori to leave her alone. But nothing was normal today, and Jordyn's body agreed. She didn't seem to have control over anything, and so she did nothing.

As Lori replaced the driver's license, her fingers thumbed the edges of a photograph. Smiling, she stared at the image of Jordyn squeezing a little girl tightly. Both were so happy they didn't even seem to realize they were being photographed. "Is this your daughter?" She turned the photo over and read the name and date on the back. "Marnie and Jordyn, Summer-"

The mention of her baby sister's name made Jordyn snap out of her funk. She felt her eyes narrow as she watched Lori look at the picture. Sensing Jordyn's shift, Lori was watching her cautiously. "She's about, what, six?"

Finally, Jordyn's body worked with her and she nodded her head.

"So... do you know where she is?"

"No." Now her voice was back, and an irritability bubbled in her veins.

"I know it's hard to think it, but kids are resilient and much more capable than we give 'em credit for. They adapt. So, your daughter could have run off into the woods and be-"

"She's my sister." Jordyn corrected her sharply. "She didn't run away." Her voice rose. "She wasn't raised in the woods by wolves. She didn't hit her head and forget her name or where she lived and she's not staying with some nice family of gypsies." Pausing, Jordyn had to catch her breath. "She's gone. She's dead." Jordyn blinked hot tears out of her eyes. "I'll never find her. She's never coming back."

Lori didn't say anything else. She finished cleaning up Jordyn in silence, and then patted her arm, shut the car door and let her be.

* * *

><p>Fort Benning was even more terrifying than Atlanta and it didn't take Jordyn long to figure out why. It was silent. Atlanta had a constant hum of zombies shuffling about and moaning through the streets, but there they were all dead. If they had even been zombies to begin with, it was hard to tell if the bodies were suffering from the infection or just decomposing from being out in the elements for so long.<p>

One thing was clear: Fort Benning would not be their ultimate safe haven.

It all started with an exhausted looking scientist named Dr. Edwin Jenner who welcomed them into Zone 5. Rick had screamed at a security camera, begging for all their lives as the undead closed in like a swarm, and Jenner had reluctantly allowed them all passage into the CDC compound. The price was submitting to a blood test, and it was a very small price to pay.

Rick lead the charge and got tested first, then Shane, Glenn, and Dale. Carol and Lori went next and waited by their children as each of them had blood drawn. Then it was Jordyn's turn. She wasn't crazy about needles but if Sophia and Carl had suffered through it then she figured she could, too.

Her mother had told her once when getting a needle to focus on anything but the doctor and what he was doing. So Jordyn stared around the compound. It was heavily reinforced. The doors had extra doors and sliding doors and solid doors behind those keeping the infected well out of the way. It was almost like a hospital with the clinical way it was set out. There were labs and observation rooms, even some lecture theatres. It was in one of these theatres where Jenner performed the blood tests.

Jenner was alone, apart from a voice activated computer system he referred to as Vi. There was no one else at the compound. No doctors, no staff, no one. And from his demeanour, everyone could tell that Jenner had basically given up. It was like he was just waiting to die.

However, he did manage to get quite lively. After they'd all had their blood drawn, he ushered them into a kitchen where they created a feast. The kitchen had electricity, which meant hot food.

Lori helped serve, setting a plate of steak with a side salad in front of Jordyn. There were bread rolls in the centre of the table, sauces, and even the salt and pepper were a welcome site. It was the first time in a long time Jordyn had felt at ease; it reminded her of when she would hang out like this with friends for no particular reason. Just to eat and talk and laugh.

As well as lots of food, there were bottles and bottles of alcohol, and every adult seemed to grasp their own bottle. Everyone was in a great mood; even Daryl made a crack at Glenn about wanting to see how drunk he could get him. Even Jordyn laughed. The one person who didn't show any emotion was Jenner. Jordyn found that odd; surely someone who had been alone for so long would be enjoying finally having people to talk to. Or maybe he was in shock, the way Jordyn herself had been when Shane found her. At the time, the last thing she wanted to do was talk.

"Seems to me like we haven't properly thanked our host." Rick spoke up.

"He is more than just our host!" T-Dog announced.

"Boo-yah!" Daryl agreed amongst a chorus of cheers and clinking glasses.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what happened here, Doc?" Shane asked as he poured himself another glass of wine. "All the other doctors who were s'posed to be figuring out what happened. Where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick said. "We don't need to do this now."

"Well, wait a second... that's why we're here, right?" Shane raised his eyebrows, "This was your move to find all the answers. Instead, we found him. One man. Why?"

Jenner took a deep breath. "Well, when things got bad a lot of people just left and went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"They all left?"

"No... most of them couldn't make it out the door." Jenner explained. "They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave." Andrea pointed out. "Why?"

Jenner looked almost mystified. "I just kept working. Hoping to do some good."

"Dude... you are a buzzkill." Glenn muttered.

After their dinner, Jenner took everyone on a small tour around his compound. He explained that most of the facility was powered down, and that included the housing sector, so they were left to make beds on comfy couches and rollaway beds. He got Sophia and Carl excited with the prospect of the rec room, and then said the most glorious words any of them could have ever hoped to hear.

"Go easy on the hot water."

Jordyn was happier than she had been in since the day hell broke out.

The little room where the women showered was like a palace, even though it was only minimally decorated. The walls were a nasty asylum white colour, but Jordyn thought they were beautiful. The towels were a dull gray colour but Jordyn couldn't wait wrap one around herself. The furniture was sparse and boring; but Jordyn couldn't have found it more appealing.

It had been so long since she'd been inside like this. Safe.

Jenner collected a handful of clothes that had been left behind and offered the laundry room to wash the clothes they were wearing, asking them to please hand-wash only. Jordyn didn't have a lot of clothes, and none that she wanted to put on after a hot shower so she sifted through the clothes and chose a black pair of leggings and a navy blue _GSU Panthers_ t-shirt with a paw print on the chest.

Showering was heavenly. She'd showered before in Dales camper but it wasn't the same as a steaming hot cascade of water raining down on her skin. Her mood was elevated thanks to the filling meal and copious amount of liquor that she had consumed, and it was divine. The shower was full of little luxuries. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, even a facial cleanser. Jordyn used it all with no regrets.

The clothes she'd removed were so filthy she didn't even attempt to clean them. Her jeans were thin and worn in all the wrong places. Her black singlet had faded to a strange slate gray colour, and even with all the stains on it, it was still her best shirt.

Carol took the kids to find a place to sleep and Lori went barefoot into the rec room thrilled to announce she was going to peruse the books. Jordyn lagged behind. It was nice knowing she didn't have to rush.

As she towelled her hair dry Jordyn stared at herself in the mirror. She'd often been confronted by her appearance these days, usually finding a scratch on her face from a tree branch, or a bruise on her cheek, or dirt smears across her skin. Now she was clean, it was confronting in a whole different way. But it was nice to think, even for a moment, that all she had to do was sleep and not spend the night on edge with her rifle jumping at every gust of wind.

Thinking of her rifle made her anxious as to where it was. Shane and Rick had stored all the weapons together for safekeeping, but Jordyn felt okay with the separation from her gun. Another side effect from the alcohol. It didn't even bother her that she was no longer alone in the room.

Daryl was in the doorway. He'd showered, too, but still wore what Jordyn was noticing was a trademark for him: sleeveless shirts. Either made that way, or he cut them off. Whatever the reason, he had nice muscles so it wasn't a bad trait to have. T-Dog had a similar tendency, but again Jordyn wasn't complaining.

"Everyone's still drinking." Daryl held out a bottle to her. "Glenn said to give this to you."

"Oh..." Jordyn took it, a bottle of _Jack Daniels_ whiskey. A not-so-popular beverage choice for the locals back at Ted's bar, but one Jordyn enjoyed. "Thank you."

"We're, uh, we're down in that room where he took our blood..."

Jordyn scratched the back of her neck. "Ah, yeah," She agreed tentatively. "I'll come by."

Daryl gave her a smile or a smirk, she couldn't tell the difference, and left her doorway. She would have gone with him right away, but she knew if she did she'd be drinking with Glenn, Daryl, T-Dog and possibly Dale for a few hours. And she knew she would cross that barrier of being too drunk to make sense, and she needed the courage that the liquor gave her to go and talk to Jenner.

* * *

><p>A familiar, frightened feeling crept up Jordyn's spine as she wandered through the empty hallways looking for the doctor. She knew that there were no zombies inside, but her senses didn't seem to agree. Every flickering light and every darkened corner made her heart rate speed up. She suddenly wanted her rifle, but all she had was her bottle of <em>Jack<em> that she grasped just as protectively as she would have her weapon.

Jenner was in the control room which was quite impressive even though it was empty. It was easy for Jordyn to imagine what it would have been like, bustling with doctors, scientists and soldiers all knuckling down to find a cure. But now it was just looked dead. And spooky.

Sipping from a bottle of wine, Jenner glanced at Jordyn over his shoulder as he heard her approach. "Could end here, or the next part could merge into the chapter. "Which one are you?"

"Jordyn."

"Right. Jordyn." He regarded her tiredly. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask you some questions."

"About?"

"My sister." Jordyn drew in a deep breath. "She was at a school play rehearsal on the day this all happened. And a couple of days after I got out of the city, before communications went completely dead, I heard on the radio that the school had been trashed. But they didn't say anything about survivors or anything... I just thought maybe someone came in and got the kids out of there?"

Jenner looked at her for a few moments, then spun around and hit a few keys on his computer keyboard. "What school?"

"Atlanta East Primary." Jordyn felt her heart speed up again. This was the first time she'd actually discussed Marnie with anyone who had the ability to help her.

"Some schools were designated safety zones early on." Jenner explained as he searched. "They're big and people know how to get to them. Course, that was before we realized how fast the infection had spread. The schools were like Petri dishes of the disease." He shook his head and took a swig from his wine bottle.

Jordyn's brow knitted together. "So you left them?"

"Some." Jenner replied. "Some didn't have a choice, the infected outnumbered the uninfected. Most parents had come with their kids so they just took off, but if they were alone like your sister they were taken into military protection. When we realized the magnitude of what was going on... the infection... the kids were quarantined and isolated." He shrugged. "If your sister was alive, then that's where she'd be." Stifling a yawn, Jenner spun back around to face her. "Sorry to be blunt, but that's the truth.

Jordyn was glad she was tipsy, because it stopped her from getting teary-eyed and she managed to stay somewhat focused on what she wanted to know. "Then how can I find her?"

"I don't know," Jenner chuckled humourlessly. "Those platoons are designed to be portable for disaster scenarios. They pick up and move on every few days. Protocol is to keep manifests of everyone they have in protection but," He shrugged. "It was also protocol for us to stay here, and look how that turned out for me." He gave her a weak smile and took another drink.

"So... where do I start looking for her?"

"I don't know. She might not even be with them." Jenner admitted. "Maybe your folks picked her up and are shipping around the state like you, maybe she ran off, maybe some nice lady picked her up and got her out of town." He sighed and nodded his head at a computer screen that showed the security camera filming outside the compound. "Or maybe she's out there on the street with all those bodies."

Angered at his callousness, Jordyn turned and left Jenner alone. A swaggering Rick with a bottle of whiskey in his hands passed her as she went into the hall. Alone, she unscrewed the cap of her_ Jack Daniels_ and took a long drink, barely tasting the liquor on her tongue.

Thinking she might find some comfy couch to sleep on, Jordyn headed back towards the kitchen and that's when she heard raucous laughter coming from the lecture theatre. Remembering Daryl's offer, she swung into the room to see the Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog and, surprisingly, Andrea sitting around drinking.

T-Dog lit up when she walked in. "Jordyn, good, you worked at a bar, right?"

She hovered by the door. "Yeah."

"Ok," He was laughing with Glenn. "Will you tell this boy that there's no vodka in a Manhattan!"

"Uh, I didn't make a lot of Manhattan's in a sports bar." She turned to Glenn. "But no, you don't make them with vodka." She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"Yes!" T-Dog fist pumped to himself.

Glenn looked adorably sheepish. "It surprises you that I'm not a big drinker?"

Daryl laughed out loud. "That's what makes it fun!" He snapped a beer off a six pack he had at his feet and threw it at Jordyn. "Pull up a seat."

Sitting beside a blank-looking Andrea, Jordyn sat cross-legged on the chair and tucked her _Jack Daniels_ under her seat to start on her beer. They all talked for a few hours about Jenner and how sane or insane he was, about the prospects of a cure, where they'd go next, and they all guzzled their way through a lot of alcohol, even Glenn ingested a lot more than Jordyn would have thought his skinny frame could handle.

After awhile, Jordyn noticed Andrea hadn't said much so she turned to her and found she wasn't there. Jordyn felt a bit guilty, but then again Andrea wasn't one to just sit by and do nothing. And lately all she had been doing was mourning Amy.

"She cleared out," T-Dog said through a yawn. "About twenty minutes ago. Think she drank too much; saw her running for the bathroom."

Glenn looked an odd shade of green. "I think I'll join her." He stood up and stumbled towards the door.

"I should probably help him," T-Dog said laughing. "Or he'll fall down some stairs we haven't found."

Jordyn found herself stifling a yawn. "Bed sounds good."

"That an offer?" Daryl said tiredly, he was slumped back in a chair with his eyes closed.

Jordyn threw her empty beer can at him. "No. But, ah, I wanted to ask you if could do me a favour?" Probably wasn't the best idea to ask while they were both drunk, but Jordyn knew she'd lose her nerve when she sobered up.

He opened one eye at her. "What?"

"That stuff I told you about Connor," She started. "No one else really knows about it and I'd like to keep it that way. I just... don't want people feeling sorry for me."

Daryl slowly nodded in reply. Jordyn figured that was as much of an okay as she was going to get, and rose shakily to her feet to make her way to some form of a bed.


	6. Have A Nice Day

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
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**Chapter 6: Have A Nice Day**

Pulling up to the curb, Jordyn steered her navy blue hatchback in front of her parent's house near the end of the cul-de-sac. As she locked her car she heard more sirens; she'd heard them constantly on the way there from her apartment but was yet to actually see an ambulance or police car.

The mailbox had letters sticking out of the slot which Jordyn grabbed in her stride as she headed for the front porch of her mother's quaint three bedroom cottage. She hopped up the three porch steps in one leap and let herself in the front door. "Ma?" She called out.

"Jordie!"

Jordyn was engulfed in a sweeping hug by Marnie who flung herself into her big sister's arms so fast she almost knocked her down. "Ooh, careful!" Jordyn laughed and squeezed her sister tight. Even though Marnie was bright, blue-eyed six year-old, Jordyn still carried her around on her hip. Together they walked to the kitchen.

"Look at you, Baby Girl." Jordyn took a good look at what her sister was wearing. She had a white sheet fashioned into a poncho with silver ribbon trim, silver glitter stars stuck on her face and a pipe cleaner halo attached to a headband on her shoulder length honey-blonde hair. "You're an angel in the play, huh?"

"Yep!" Marnie said as she played with Jordyn's ponytail. "Mummy's making me wings tomorrow. You're coming to see me, right?"

"Of course I am." Jordyn said. "I wouldn't miss your first play."

"Hi, love," Olivia Emery-Rhodes breezed in through the back door with a basket of clean laundry fresh from the clothesline on her hip and wearing a checked blue and green summer dress. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled back in a loose braid and her round face and coffee-coloured eyes lit up when she saw Jordyn. "Took you awhile to get here." She kissed Jordyn's cheek.

"Yeah, sorry, I overslept. Whole mess of sirens woke me up way too early."

"Oh, yeah, I heard them at breakfast." Olivia rolled her eyes and set the washing in the laundry room. "Someone's visiting, I bet. President, Vice-President. Maybe Dr. Phil?"

Jordyn set Marnie on the floor and straightened her halo. "Where's Connor?"

"Packing. Last minute. Like always. One night at your place and he feels like he has to take his whole room with him. Michael's trying to talk him out of bringing his skis." She glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Marnie, go get your stuff ready, okay? We're leaving in just a minute."

"I can drop her off." Jordyn offered as Marnie ran from the room.

"It's okay, I have to talk to Miss Logan about these gosh-darn angel wings or she'll have me make them all over again." Olivia rolled her eyes for a second time. "She's a great teacher, but who calls a last minute rehearsal for a first grade play two weeks before opening night, and on a _Saturday_?"

"A very good teacher or a very sad woman." Jordyn suggested.

"Likely." Olivia exhaled and turned to her eldest child. "Okay. The kids are staying with you tonight, Marnie's rehearsal ends at-

"Ends at four," Jordyn interrupted and recited the rest. "I'll pick her up and take her home. I'll cook dinner for her and Connor and get them to bed at a reasonable hour after filling them full of sugar. And I will drop them back here tomorrow afternoon." She smiled. "Yes, Ma, I remember."

"Don't be a smartass." Olivia smiled coyly at her. "But thank you for taking them for the night, Jordyn. Really, Michael and I are so grateful."

"Ok," Jordyn held up her hand. She knew that by taking the kids for the night she was freeing up her mother and step-father to do what all happy couples do on date nights; and she preferred not to think about it. "You're welcome."

"Jordie!" Connor yelped happily as he bounded into the kitchen.

"Hey, buddy," Jordyn ruffled his honey-blonde hair and kissed the top of his head. "Ready to go?"

"Think so!" Michael Rhodes announced as he followed his son, army green backpack in hand. His identical honey-blonde hair was shaved down to a buzz cut as was his latest attempt to ease wind resistance for his basketball team. "How are you, Joy?"

"Good," Jordyn received the loving hug from her step dad, ignoring his cheesy nickname for her. It spawned from him misspelling her name once and just stuck. She didn't care for it but it didn't bother her that much. And it hadn't caught on with the rest of her family, so she grinned and bared it. "I have to stop by work before we head home, okay?" She took Connor's bag and shrugged it over her shoulder.

"I thought Ted's was closed this weekend?" Michael asked, his gray eyes twinkling as he smiled at his wife.

Jordyn nodded. "It is, he sent me the wrong cheque."

"Oh, bless him." Olivia chuckled. "Sweet man, but he couldn't make his way out of a paper bag."

"Ok, bud, you be good for Jordyn, alright?" Michael knelt over and kissed his son. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't stay up too late, okay?" Olivia smoothed her sons flyaway, honey blonde hair off his face and kissed each of his cheeks. "Be good." Olivia then kissed Jordyn. "Bye, love."

"Let's go," She ushered Connor out of the kitchen. "Marnie, we're leaving!" Jordyn called up the stairs. "I'll see you at four, okay?"

"Oka_yyyyyy_." Marnie's voice sung out from her bedroom.

"Can we get a scary movie to watch tonight?" Connor asked as he ran out of the house to Jordyn's car.

"A scary movie?" Jordyn repeated. "I don't think so; last time we did that I had you _and _Marnie in my bed, remember?"

"That was fun."

"Not for me." She unlocked her car and tossed Connor's bag in the back as he climbed into the passenger's seat and buckled his seat belt. "

"I won't get scared this time, promise!" Connor pleaded as Jordyn got behind the wheel. "Just _one_ scary movie? _Puh_-lease?"

"We'll see." Jordyn smirked and started up her engine. In the distance she heard more sirens. "Maybe just one." She shared a smile with her little brother as they drove towards the city.

* * *

><p>A splitting headache, sore throat and aching limbs woke Jordyn the next day. She was familiar with how her body reacted to a night of heavy drinking, and only when she opened her heavy eyes in the morning did she realize her normal hangover remedy would be impossible to implement. She wasn't going to be able to take an hour long bath, drink orange juice all day and spend the night listening to an Enya CD.<p>

Jordyn took advantage of the showers again, it wasn't as soothing as a bath but it eased the throbbing in her arms and legs. Plus, her regular clothes were dry. She slipped back into her jeans and faded black shirt, but she hung onto the _GSU Panthers _shirt and leggings, she always needed clean clothes.

Breakfast was as vast as dinner had been the night before, and Jordyn was overly excited to see two jugs of orange juice in between a plate of crispy bacon when she wandered towards the table. About half the gang were there. Carl was sitting next to his father eating cereal and Lori was playing waiter and making sure everyone was fed.

"Here," Lori pushed a pill bottle into her hand as she sat her at the table beside Glenn. "Aspirin, we've all been sharing it. Jenner thought we could use it."

Jordyn thanked her and glanced around at the bleary-eyed faces of her crew. Poor Glenn looked miserable, pathetic and yet adorable at the same time, his head resting in his arms. Rick arrived looking worse for wear, even Jacqui was a little dusky.

"Eggs!" T-Dog announced carrying a tray in from the kitchen. "Powdered, but still good the way I make 'em." He served some up to Glenn. "Protein is good for a hangover, y'know." He teased

"Never let me drink again." Glenn groaned into his hands.

Jordyn poured herself a big glass of orange juice washed down a couple of aspirin. T-Dog scooped a pile of scrambled eggs onto her plate which she picked at delicately. Past experiences told her not to eat too much too fast or she'd be seeing it again very soon.

"How can you eat?" Glenn stared at her incredulously from under his cap. "Everything hurts. My skin and my eyes... how is that possible?"

"You're a lightweight." Jordyn said. "Don't worry; it bodes well for your future. You won't get a beer gut."

"That doesn't help me now."

"No, it does not." Jordyn smiled and sipped her juice as Sophia, Carol, Jacqui and Daryl came in.

"Why don't you look hung-over?" Jordyn asked Daryl as he sat stood beside her and leaned over to stab some bacon with a fork. He looked the same as he had the night before; tired but still animated. And he was wearing that checked sleeveless shirt again.

"I can hold my drink." He replied with a smirk. "Can't you?"

"I'm vertical." Jordyn pointed out. "And I haven't thrown up yet."

"Shut up, _please_." Glenn moaned.

"Hungry?" Daryl waved the bacon in Glenn's face before stuffing it in his mouth.

"Ugh." Glenn turned a pale green and ducked his head back into his hands.

"Morning." Jenner greeted them as he came into the kitchen. And suddenly the whole tone of the meal changed. A tension built up as though collectively they all held their breath.

"Look," Dale spoke up. "Doc, not to bother you with questions first thing..."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea added. "We're here for a cure. A vaccine. Something to fight against this. That's what you're doing here, right?"

Jenner poured himself a coffee and took a sip before he answered her. "Okay... come with me."

Intrigued, even Glenn pushed through his hangover to join everyone as they trailed after Jenner. He led them back to the control room full of empty desks and blank computer screens. He asked Vi to playback something called TS-19. The giant screen in front of them lit up and showed what appeared to be x-ray images inside a human skull.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this." Jenner told them as he set himself up in front of a computer. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked staring at the images.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner confirmed. "Not that it matters in the end." He ordered Vi to adjust the image so they were looking at the brain side-on. The picture zoomed in further and further until it showed an extreme close-up view of synapses jolting about the brain. They were lit up like blue flashes of electricity.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"A person's life." Jenner said. "Experiences. Memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light... is you." He gestured to all of them. "The thing that makes you unique. And human."

"You don't make sense." Daryl piped up. "Ever."

"Those are synapses." Jenner continued. "Electronic impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick cut in as he approached Jenner. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes." Jenner said, staring glass-eyed at the screen. "Or r-rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked from beside Jordyn. "Who?"

"Test Subject Nineteen." Jenner answered in a low voice. "Someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event." The computer screen shifted its image again and now showed the blue flashes in the brain being overtaken by a spreading, black liquid-like substance.

"What is that?" Glenn asked.

"The infection. It invades the brain like meningitis." Jenner explained. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage. The brain goes into shutdown and then the major organs. Then death." The black substance spread entirely through the brain, leaving nothing but darkness. "Everything you ever were... gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother.

Carol held her daughter close. "Yes."

Jordyn felt a strange feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol from the night before or T-Dog's questionable cooking. Connor. What happened to TS-19 had happened to Connor. His brain had been overrun by the infection and it had taken him away. Everything that made Connor the sweet boy that he was, the virus smothered and overtook his body. What the infection stole, it didn't give back.

What Connor had returned as when he resurrected wasn't Connor at all. He'd been gone. The infection had killed Connor; not Jordyn. Lightly, and only lightly, she felt her heart lift. Andrea let out an audible sob, and Lori informed Jenner about Amy. Jordyn was grateful to Lori for keeping her promise and not mentioning Connor or Marnie. To his credit, Daryl didn't either.

"I lost someone, too." Jenner shared with them. "Scan to the second event!" He ordered at Vi. The image of the blackened brain started to light up again. "The resurrection times vary wildly; we have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours." The lights grew brighter; but they weren't blue anymore. They were red. "In the case of this patient it was two hours...one minute... and seven seconds."

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked incredulously.

"No, just the brain stem." Jenner said. "Basically it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick inquired.

Jenner pointed to the screen. "You tell me."

Rick glanced at the red lights firing through the brain. "It's nothing like before." He said. "That brain is mostly dark."

"Dark is dead." Jenner said. "The neo-frontal lobes, the cortex, the human part? That doesn't come back. The _you_ part." He shook his head. "Just becomes a shell driven by mindless instinct."

A bright light suddenly flashed through the skull leaving what looked like a valley through the brain. The red lights immediately disappeared.

"What was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea said, her face visible with the memory of doing the same thing to her sister. "Didn't you?"

"Vi power down the main screens and the workstations." Jenner ordered before turning to face the group. He didn't answer Andrea.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea sounded accusatory.

"It could be microbial." Jenner said weakly. "Viral, parasitic, fungal..."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui interjected firmly.

"There is that." Jenner conceded.

Not one for religion, Jordyn felt the liquid courage from the night before flare in her blood. "Somebody must know something." She said loudly. "Someone, _somewhere_. You can't have no idea what this is. There are others, right? Other places like this?"

"There may be some." He said to Jordyn. "These facilities aren't made to move around."

He gave her a long look, and Jordyn knew he was referring to their conversation the night before. He was telling her she wouldn't find Marnie in a place like this; if she wanted to find her sister it would be on the road, not in a stationary facility. Jordyn appreciated that he didn't blurt out their conversation to everyone; it would create more pity she didn't want.

"So, yes, there may be some others like me." Jenner concluded.

"But you don't know for sure?" Rick was shocked, his eyes bulged. "How can you _not_ know?"

"Everything went down." Jenner shrugged. "Communications, directives, everything. All I've got are the initial broadcasts and original plans which, as far as I know, aren't that accurate anymore. I've got no communication with anyone. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So, it's not just here." Andrea said with meek realization. "There's nothing left anywhere. Nothing." She repeated. "That's what you're really saying, right?"

"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk. Again." Daryl said rubbing his eyes with his palms and starting to pace behind Jordyn.

"I know this has been taxing for you," Dale piped up. "And I hate to ask one more question but..." He pointed to the wall on the far left. "That clock is counting down."

Jordyn followed his eyes and saw that indeed there was a big clock counting down. As she watched it lowered passed the hour mark and hit fifty-nine minutes. Clearly, something would happen in an hour.

"What happens at zero?" Dale asked.

"The... the basement generators run out of fuel." Jenner said quickly, turning his back to Dale.

"And then?" Rick prompted, but Jenner just walked away. "Vi!" Rick called out. "What happens when the power runs out?"

Vi answered him right away, her voice echoing from the speakers all around them. "When the power runs out, facility wide decontamination will occur."


	7. Pieces That Don't Belong Together

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)_**  
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**Chapter 7: Pieces That Don't Belong Together**

Jordyn was stealing the shampoo and conditioner when the lights above her went out. "Hell!" She cursed under her breath, fumbling in the dark for her flashlight. Everyone had retreated to various rooms while Rick, Glenn, T-Dog and Shane went on a mission to keep the power on. Jordyn had decided it was time to gather what she could in case they had to leave.

"Emergency lighting on." Vi announced through the speakers.

Dim lights came on in the hallway, but not in the bathroom. By torchlight Jordyn grabbed the shampoo bottles and checked under the sink. She found a waterproof duffle bag shoved right at the back and held it open while sweeping her arm across the shelf taking whatever was there. There wasn't much, just more Aspirin, some Band-Aids, unopened soaps. Pointless stuff, but stuff she couldn't seem to leave behind.

Torch under her arm, she carried the duffle back into the main room and rested it on the bench. Then she went back and grabbed the dry towels.

"What are you doing?" Daryl was in the doorway, bottle of whiskey in hand, giving her an odd look.

"Stealing." Jordyn stuffed the towels in the duffle. "Either help me or go away."

He frowned but nodded appreciatively. "What are you taking?"

"I'm not sure." Jordyn said trying to zip up the bag.

"Doctor?" Lori's voice called from the hall. "Why is the air conditioning off?"

"Hey!" Daryl spun around and stuck his head out in the hall as Jenner, now wearing a lab coat, passed by. "What's going on with the power?"

Jenner snatched Daryl's bottle of whiskey and kept walking. "Energy use is being prioritized."

Successfully zipping up the duffle, Jordyn slung it over her shoulder, picked up her rifle off the table by the door and followed Daryl into the hall. Everyone was out of their rooms tailing Jenner who was striding towards the control room swigging on the whiskey.

"Air isn't a priority?" Dale questioned. "And lights?"

"It's not up to me." Jenner admitted. "Zone five is shutting itself down."

"Hey, what's the hell that mean?" Daryl jogged up and kept in step beside him. "Hey man, I'm talkin' to you! What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner said vaguely as they all wandered into the control room again. As they descended the stairs, Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Glenn ran in from the back entrance.

"Jenner; what's happening?" Rick asked through gritted teeth.

"The system is dropping all non-essential uses of power." Jenner explained as he walked. "It's designed to keep the computers going until the last possible second. And we just approached the half hour mark." He pointed to the clock that was now counting down from thirty-one minutes. "Right on schedule." He paused and turned to Daryl, holding out the whiskey bottle to him.

Daryl snatched back his drink and said nothing.

"It was the French." Jenner suddenly revealed. "They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in their labs until the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"Same thing that's happening here." Jenner shrugged. "No power grid. Ran outta juice. The world runs on fossil fuel, I mean how stupid is that?" He turned his back on them.

"The hell with this," Rick faced the group. "Lori grab our things. Everybody get your stuff; we're getting out of here. NOW!"

Jordyn dropped her duffle full of stolen goods and slung her rifle over her back, but a loud, blaring siren went off causing everyone to stop still. The screen that had previously shown the images of TS-19's brain now showed the timer counting down.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." Vi announced.

"Doc, what the hell is going on?" Daryl called out.

Shane stood beside his partner. "Everybody; ya heard Rick, get your stuff and get out! Let's go!"

"Move, now, move!" T-Dog took charge and ushered them all up the ramp towards the exit.

Jordyn sprinted up the ramp behind T-Dog but the door slid down and shut right in front of her eyes. She and T-Dog still ran up against it, pummelling their hands on it, but it didn't budge. The door was so thick that it didn't even make an echo when they pounded on the metal.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn cried out. "He locked us in!"

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl rushed at Jenner who was sitting at his computer, apparently calm enough to make a video message of the last few minutes of his life.

"Shane!" Rick alerted his partner as Daryl flew past him.

"You locked us in here!" Daryl flung himself at Jenner, but Shane grabbed him and pulled him back. Struggling, T-Dog ran in to help keep Daryl at bay.

"Jenner. Open that door." Rick ordered fiercely. "_Now_."

"There's no point." Jenner said tiredly, seemingly unbothered by Daryl's threats on his life. "Everything topside is locked down. Emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things!"

"That's not something I control; the computers do it." Jenner pointed at Rick. "I told you." He said firmly. "I told you that once that front door closed it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that." His face softened. "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick glared at the doctor. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?"

He didn't answer, and the frustration from both Rick and Shane boiled over. They both sidled up to Jenner. "Tell us!" Shane cried.

"What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Rick demanded.

"Don't you realize that this place is?" Jenner exploded. "We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! EVER!" His words bounced off the walls. He took some slow breaths, calmly sat down at his computer and straightened his lab coat. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure. A terrorist attack, for example. H-I-T's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H-I-T's?" Rick questioned.

"Vi, define!" Jenner instructed, seemingly unable or unwillingly to do so himself.

"H-I-T's. High-impulse thermo baric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner said calmly. "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything."

Jordyn stared at the doctor, bemused. Her mind was still processing Vi's definition. A blast, six thousand degrees, greatest loss of life. They were all going to blow up right where they stood.

Fuming, Daryl reared back and tossed his whiskey bottle at the locked exit. "Open the damn door!" He screamed at Jenner.

"Move!" Shane ran past them all hurling an axe over his shoulder as he sprinted up the ramp towards their way out. Dale tossed a second axe to Daryl who followed Shane and both men started wailing into the door.

Sophia and Carl were in tears, unsuccessfully being comforted by their mothers. Jordyn stood at the edge of the ramp watching Shane and Daryl hack uselessly at the exit. Glenn was beside her, Andrea was slumped down near Carol, and Dale and Jacqui just looked stunned.

The axes weren't having any effect

Shane returned, gasping for breath. "Can't make a dent."

Jenner looked at him pitifully. "Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher."

Daryl stormed back over to them looking furious. "Well, your head ain't!"

"Daryl!" Jordyn, Dale, Jacqui and a handful of others screamed. T-Dog and Jordyn got to him first and managed to hold him back before he decapitated Jenner.

Rick held back Daryl's arm while T-Dog ripped the axe from his grip, Jordyn kept pushing him back by the chest away from Jenner. It wasn't that she wanted to save the doctor but more that if they killed him, there was no chance of them getting out. Although, there didn't seem to be that much hope to begin with.

"You do want this." Jenner tried to explain to Rick. "Last night you said you knew it was only a matter of time before everyone you loved was dead."

Looking guilty, Rick turned to his wife who, with wide and confused eyes, just hugged their son. Shane looked just as dumbfounded. "You really said that? After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" He snapped at Shane.

"There is no hope." Jenner cut in. "There never was."

"There's always hope." Rick retorted. "Maybe not you, maybe not here, but _some_body, _some_where!"

"What part of 'everything's gone' do you not understand?" Andrea voiced from the floor.

"Listen to your friend." Jenner said to Rick. "She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right!" Carol wailed loudly, clasping her hands around her daughter. "You can't just keep us here!"

Jenner knelt down and leant towards her. "One, tiny moment. A millisecond of pain-"

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol lifted Sophia towards Dale and got to her feet. Shane, pulsing with renewed frustration and energy, ran for the door.

"You don't think this would be kinder?" Jenner asked them all incredulously. "To just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"

Despite herself, Jordyn almost found herself agreeing with him. Surely that would be a nice way to die in this world, but her loved ones weren't here with her. She'd never get Connor back, and she had no idea what happened to her parents and sister...

The cocking of a shotgun rang through the control room and Shane stormed back over aiming his weapon at Jenner's head.

"Shane!"

"Stay outta my way Rick!" Shane shoved his partner aside with his shoulder and focused in on Jenner. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off, you hear me?"

"Brother, brother," Rick tried to talk Shane down. "This is not the way you do this or we will never get outta here. He dies; we all die!""

Shane let out a guttural scream, tilted the gun to the side and fired into one of the empty computer desks. And then again. And again. And again.

"Shane!" Rick grabbed the shotgun and twisted it out of Shane's hands, elbowing him across the jaw to subdue him. Shane fell to the floor and Rick stood over him, gun poised over his shoulder ready to smack the butt across his head if need be. "You done now? Or are you done?" Rick grunted at him.

Panting, Shane just laid back. "I guess we all are."

Rick left him and passed the gun over to T-Dog. Then he eyed each one of their group in silence. Finally he turned back to Jenner. "I think you're lying." He said as Shane stumbled weakly to his feet. "About no hope. If that were true you would have bolted with the rest. Or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter." Jenner muttered.

"It _does_ matter." Rick countered. "It _always_ matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to." Jenner said crisply. "I made a promise." He stood nose to nose with Rick and pointed to the screen that had shown the brain images. "To her... my wife."

"Test Subject Nineteen was your wife." Lori deduced.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could." Jenner went on. "How could I say no?"

A hefty bang made Jordyn jump. Daryl had disappeared from behind her and was hacking at the door with the axe again.

"She was dying." Jenner stared at the screen. "It should have been me on that table. It wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field she was an Einstein. Me, I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could have done something about this. Not me.

"Your wife didn't have a choice, you do." Rick said. "That's all we want. A choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori begged.

Jenner looked from Lori, to Rick, to Carl and then to the monitor with the countdown. He stared at his feet and sighed. "I told you topside's locked down; there's nothing I can do about that." He said moving towards a desk further behind them.

There was a keypad in front of him; he held a card against it, punched in some numbers and then the doors just opened as simple as that. Daryl dropped the axe and screamed at the group to get moving.

Securing her rifle over her back, Jordyn grabbed for her duffle bag of stolen goods. It was Jacqui's cries to be left behind that made her stop still.

"I'm staying." Jacqui was saying tearfully, pulling her hands out of T-Dog's grip as he tried to drag her along with him. "I'm staying, sweetie."

"That's insane!" T-Dog cried, his eyes wide with fright..

"No, it's completely sane." Jacqui said, gently stroking the side of his face." For the first time in a long time, this is sane." She smiled through her tears. "I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue. And no point. Not if you wanna get out." She gave him a shove backwards. "Just get out."

"Come on," Dale said, turning to Andrea. "We gotta go."

Andrea didn't move. "I'm staying, too." She said resolutely.

"Andrea," Dale looked taken aback. "No!"

Jordyn locked eyes with her, unblinking, feeling a sudden sense of alarm. Andrea's abrupt decisiveness rooted Jordyn to the spot in shock. Andrea was strong, she had sat with her sister while she died and then shot her before she turned into a Walker. She was the first to offer help, the first to go on supply runs, and, Jordyn assumed, would be the first one running to the door to safety. And yet now she was slouching down and hugging her knees, defeated.

"Let's go!" Shane ordered.

Dale motioned to Jordyn to go without him, but it was a quick tug of her arm that made her move. Turning, Jordyn saw the back of Glenn's head as his hand pulled her along amidst Dale's yells not to wait for him. Jordyn felt that dazed feeling again, she barely registered where she was running and just kept her feet pounding along. Glenn kept her hand tight in his and directed her up the ramp and through the halls.

Her breath came in pants and gasps. Panic sent her heart rate skyrocketing and the dim emergency lighting made every shadow more intimidating. Jordyn wasn't even sure where her feet were taking her, she just turned when Glenn turned and kept up with everyone.

Together, they all ran up the dark stairways using only dim torches for light. They burst to the top floor and Jordyn's eyes stung from the sunlight that hit her face. Glenn let go of her hand and the pair of them ran for the locked front doors.

Jordyn gripped the handle and pulled with all her strength, but the door barely shifted in its place. The glass was thick and her fists just bounced off it when she tried to break it. But even if they could get through the glass, there was a metal barrier after that.

To her right Jordyn could see Daryl and Shane with the axes again, this time slicing at the window. T-Dog came up behind them and started slamming a chair into the glass. The only damage they caused was some superficial scrapes. Glenn and Jordyn left the door and hurried to help.

"Move!" Shane yelled at everyone, grabbing his shotgun. Taking a steadying breath he stood just a few feet from the window and fired.

The shot was so loud Jordyn had to cover her ears. The bullet did nothing to penetrate the glass; they were still hopelessly locked in. Sophia, who was in front of Jordyn, suddenly grabbed her hand.

Her mother was approaching Rick. "I have something that might help." Carol said. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform," She pulled a grenade from her backpack. "I found this in your pocket."

Rick looked like he could have kissed Carol. Instead he yelled at everyone to clear out and ran for the window. Jordyn pulled Sophia down behind the stairs as Carol jumped down and put her arms around her daughter. Covering her ears, Jordyn squinted her eyes shut and tucked her head to her knees. And then, for some reason, Marnie popped into her mind. Crying. If Marnie were here she would be crying, and Jordyn would be holding her just as Carol was Sophia. Instead, Jordyn was alone and Marnie was gone.

The blast knocked Jordyn off her feet. A big swoosh of air flared around her and filled the room with an acrid, burning smell of melting glass. Shell-shocked, Jordyn sprang to her feet and ushered Carol and Sophia up to the gap where the window had once stood strong.

Perched on the window's edge, Jordyn held her breath as she leapt to the ground and hoped her shaky legs would keep her upright. She stumbled forwards when she hit the dirt, but didn't topple over. A familiar groan that she hadn't had to worry about for two days swiftly caught her ears. Walkers.

Slinging her rifle off her back, Jordyn lined it the crossfire and shot down two Walkers near Dale's camper. Her gun was more accurate for a longer distance so she took down the infected nearest to the cars while everyone else with a weapon took out the ones closest to them. Shane's shotgun blasts rang through the air and Daryl took several successful swipes of the axe to behead the Walkers nearby.

Jordyn had no idea how much time they had left on that infernal countdown clock they'd left behind. Maybe a minute, likely to just be seconds. Shooting down one more Walker ambling behind Shane's jeep, she bolted for Daryl's truck. He was climbing in the driver's side as she pulled open the passenger door after tossing her bags in the back beside his bike.

"Get down!" He ordered.

Setting her rifle on the seat, Jordyn crouched down below the passenger's seat. All she could hear was her heart throbbing in her ears and her breath puffing in and out of her lungs. Anticipating the blast, Jordyn covered her ears with her hands and squinted her eyes shut. And there was Marnie again.

This blast had two waves. The first was the noise. Jordyn's hands did barely anything to muffle the roar of the explosion. The sound rang in her ears like she'd turned her iPod up way too loud. Daryl's truck rocked on the spot and Jordyn felt like she could hear the bolts and gears jostling about.

The second wave was all heat. Jordyn's immediate fear was that the temperature of the flame would ignite all the petrol in the cars, sending them all into a third, and definitely fatal, blast. But the heat faded away. And once again, all Jordyn could hear was her heart throbbing in her ears and her breath pulsating in her chest. She peeked through her eyes and saw blue sky out the window. But only for an instant, and then the blue was smothered in a consuming smog.

Slowly, Jordyn climbed up into the passenger's seat and sat her rifle across her lap. Her breath was coming in rapid bursts and she was sweating. As she adjusted her eyes to the hollow, smoking crater that had once been the CDC building, she saw that by some miracle, Dale and Andrea had survived. They hadn't made it to the cars, but they were huddled behind the sandbags by the road. Jordyn wondered what Dale had said to convince Andrea to change her mind, and was instantly thankful that he had managed to do so.

Through the windshield, Jordyn stared sadly at the flames lapping against the melting debris that she had sought refuge in only moments ago. She wondered what she'd left behind, what she'd forgotten to pack. An odd feeling of guilt came over her for stealing the bathroom supplies. Jenner didn't need them and wasn't using them; but still Jordyn felt uneasy.

Ahead of her, Dale and Andrea climbed into his camper with Rick at the helm. He kick-started his engine and got their convoy back on the road. Jordyn kept her eyes on the CDC building as Daryl followed the camper around the curb and back onto the highway the way they had come through just two days before.

Jordyn glanced in the rear-view mirror as they picked up speed. The smoke was billowing devilishly into the sky, making it black as night. Jordyn wondered if some of the smoke was Jenner... or Jacqui... _Jacqui_... The guilt returned when Jordyn realized she couldn't remember Jacqui's last name. For that matter, she didn't recall Jim or Amy's surnames either. There was so much she didn't know.

"I have to go back." She said as soon as the thought came to her mind.

Daryl glanced sideways at her. "What?"

"To Atlanta." There was so much Jordyn could take, and living with the knowledge she'd killed her brother was one of them. But she'd reached a point where being in the dark about what happened to the rest of her family was just too hard to shoulder day after day. There were too many unanswered questions, too many "what if...?" scenarios. The biggest one had been swimming around her head since Rick arrived at their camp, what if somehow, her family had survived, too? What if they were out there just like she was, waiting? There was no way she could live, or die, without finding out for sure.

Turning to Daryl, the briefest of smiles played at Jordyn's lip. "I'm going back."


	8. Peace of Mind

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)  
>Also noting that this chapter is the kick off for me going off on my own story, so eventstimelines might be different to what they are in the show._**  
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**Chapter 8: Peace of Mind**

After a stop by an abandoned gas station to fill up on fuel and check the camper's engine, Jordyn found herself alone driving Daryl's truck. When they'd stopped, Daryl retrieved his bike from the back of the truck and continued travelling on it. Jordyn wondered if her admission of her plan to go back to look for Marnie had freaked him out and he preferred not to be in the same car as her. He hadn't even said anything when he tossed her the keys.

They'd shaved down their vehicles at the last stop. Now they ran with three, four including the bike. T-Dog dumped his gas-guzzling van and joined Andrea, Glenn and Dale in the camper. Shane joined them after giving up his jeep. Rick drove his wife and son along with Carol and her daughter in the station wagon, and Jordyn brought up the rear in the truck.

It was quite nice, driving alone. Jordyn enjoyed the solitude. It gave her time to think where she'd go to look for her little sister. Depending on the way they entered the city, she would either hit the school or her apartment first. The thought of stepping foot into her home made her that much more eager to get going. Assuming no one had looted her place, which she hoped was likely since she was on the twelfth floor of a fifteen floor building, Jordyn could grab her favourite sweater, her pillow, the book she was halfway through, her reading glasses, and she was sure she had a packet of chocolate Pop Tarts in her cupboard.

Jordyn was daydreaming about gorging on those Pop Tarts when she almost rear ended Rick's station wagon. He didn't seem to notice, and Jordyn immediately saw why. The highway they had just merged into was choking with traffic that was quite literally at a standstill.

Cars littered the road as though they had been dropped from the sky. Station wagons crunched against hatchbacks, four-wheeled-drives were flipped on their sides, even some sports cars were amongst the wrecks. All the vehicles were packed tight with luggage and supplies, a good portion of which had spilled amongst all the cars.

Leading through on his bike, Daryl weaved out a path ahead of them so they could roll through. Though a smart idea, Jordyn soon realized their slowed speed gave her too much opportunity to see the dead bodies of motorists and their families that had either died in crashes or of the infection, presumably after reanimating and being killed again. When she came to a large van with child seats in the back, Jordyn turned away. There were some things she just didn't need to see.

They didn't get much further when Dale's radiator blew.

Everyone climbed from their vehicles and converged around the campervan to decide what to do. T-Dog suggested they start siphoning fuel while everyone else began the morbid but unavoidable task of searching through the cars for supplies they could use.

Rifle slung on her back, Jordyn edged towards a navy green commodore with a smashed windshield. The driver was slumped against the steering wheel, and presumably it was his wife that lay dead beside him. They had been dead for a long time, so long that Jordyn couldn't be sure if the decay was from the infection or just from the bodies decomposing in the heat. This pair had apparently left in a rush, Jordyn didn't find anything useful in their car, mainly clothes and photo albums.

A sudden flicker of fear gripped her heart and Jordyn found herself snatching an album and leafing through it. After a few moments of scanning stranger's faces, she set the book down and let herself breathe. Logically, she knew the likelihood of her mother and step-father being these people was extremely slim, but there was still a part of her brain that wondered if this was how she'd find them.

Passing the next two vehicles due to the high number of occupants that she didn't want to move, Jordyn stopped at a white jeep that had been rear ended. The well stocked trunk had spilled out onto the road, and before she even got a closer look Jordyn saw cans of food and a few bottles of water. Grabbing a nearby backpack, she emptied out some clothes and started stocking up on the food and drinks. She was inspecting some cans of powdered milk when she heard Rick's voice.

"Jordyn!" He hissed, blue eyes alert. "Under the cars! Now!"

Walkers. It had to be Walkers, there's no other reason to alert people these days. Jordyn abandoned her bag of supplies and shimmied underneath the white jeep. From her vantage point she could see Glenn and Shane huddled together under another car, Lori and Carol up ahead under a family van.

She heard their footsteps first.

Jordyn was facing away from the Walker's direction, so she craned her neck to see how many they were up against. She had to bite down on her fist to keep from yelping out in shock. Fifty, maybe even a hundred, Walkers were shuffling their way through the cars like it was some bizarre maze.

Pairs of legs ambled by Jordyn's hiding spot, they were so close she could see colour of their shoelaces. Her rifle was on her back, and she knew she would have absolutely no time to roll over, unhook the safety, aim it, and point, if a Walker decided to reach under and grab her. Instead she sunk her teeth further into her fist and held her breath.

Something was jabbing into her ribs but there was no way in hell that she dared move. She could hear their mumbling groans as they moved like herd of diseased animals, smothering the highway as they travelled to Lord knew where. Jordyn's heart was banging in her ears, a scream of fear wanted to bellow from her lungs but she kept it inside and just waited, hoping that wherever these Walkers were going didn't require a pit stop on this highway.

More than once, Jordyn tensed when she saw feet angle towards her, but then she realized that was because they were twisted at the ankle, bent backwards or, in some cases, being dragged along by a stubborn thread of skin. If she hadn't been so busy staying silent and terrified, she would have felt sick.

The herd thinned out, and Jordyn was preparing herself to emerge out from under the car when she heard Sophia's screams. By the time Jordyn got to her feet she saw Rick flying over the guardrail of the highway. Carol was in hysterics. "Those Walkers are after my baby!" She sobbed, falling back into Lori's arms.

Behind them, Daryl appeared with a weak looking T-Dog bleeding from his arm. "Was he bitten?" Jordyn asked.

"No, cut himself before they came through."

"He chucked a Walker on me." T-Dog said dizzily.

Shane was trying to calm Carol with Lori and Carl, so Jordyn took care of T-Dog. As a big sister she was familiar with bandaging up minor cuts and scrapes that Connor and Marnie seemed to have a constant supply of; but since the epidemic hit she'd had to crank her First Aid skills up a notch. At least it was something she felt confident enough in doing alone.

Sitting T-Dog down by the camper, Jordyn elevated his arm and told Daryl to keep pressure on the wound. Glenn set a First Aid Kit at her feet and stood nervously nearby, unsure where or how to offer his help.

Dale supplied Jordyn with a water bottle and towel from inside his RV. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"It has to be cleaned," Jordyn answered pouring water over the cut. "If it has dirt in it he'll get an infection." Carefully, she used the towel to soak up some of the blood and survey the wound, careful to keep her fingers from touching it. It was a deep gash, but she thought it was within the realm of fixing even under her limited knowledge. "It has to be stitched up."

"Here." Daryl held out T-Dog's arm for Jordyn to take over. "You got fishing line in there?" He asked Dale as he headed to his bike.

"Yeah," Dale nodded, rushing to his caravan door. "Will that work?"

"It's better than nothing." Daryl took a plastic bag full of pill containers out of the bag on the back of his motorcycle.

"What is all that?"

"My brother's stash. Got everything in here. Crystal, ex, some kick ass painkillers," He rummaged through the bag and tossed Jordyn a bottle. "Oxycyclene. Not the generic stuff neither, first class. Merle got the clap on occasion."

Grateful for his medicinal help, Jordyn poured a few pills into her hand and, with Glenn's help, managed to get T-Dog to swallow them. Sliding the First Aid kit over, Jordyn pulled out some bandages and a sewing kit before resting T-Dog's arm down on it as a makeshift table. Dale returned with a tight ball of fishing line and a pair of scissors.

Taking some deep breaths to try and combat the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Jordyn measured a couple of lengths of fishing line and cut it off. "I need a lighter or a match."

"Front pocket..." T-Dog mumbled with his eyes closed.

"Great..." She found the lighter, took the needle and held the flame over the length of the needle to sterilize it. Cursing once or twice as the hot metal burned her, Jordyn managed to tie the fishing line through the eye of the needle and knot it around twice.

T-Dog's skin was taut. The fishing line was thick and the needle wasn't sharp enough. All in all it was a struggle for Jordyn to make the first puncture and thread it. T-Dog was a tough guy but even he couldn't hold in his grunts of pain as Jordyn kept stitching.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Daryl asked, watching over her shoulder.

"Just like patching up a pair of jeans." Jordyn muttered, keeping her eyes focused on her stitches. There was some excess fishing line when she was done, but that was better than not having enough. Tying it off, Jordyn opened the First Aid kit and found some small alcoholic swabs. T-Dog hissed pained swears at her as she rubbed it along the gash, and then cursed some more as she bandaged it up.

"Thanks." T-Dog said when she was finished.

Jordyn just smiled, not wanting to tell him what she had done was very, very basic. At least he wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Shane found a water truck," Glenn spoke up. "You should..." He gestured to Jordyn's hands. "Wash that off."

Eying her clothes for the first time Jordyn saw just how dirty and stained she was. There must have been a patch of oil under the car she was hiding beneath because now she had black grease seeping through her shirt to her stomach. Her hands were scarlet with T-Dog's blood.

The truck was easy to find since Shane's impromptu shower had left a puddle of water across the road. Jordyn didn't intend to do the same thing and instead uncapped one of the bottles and stuck her hands in the stream, scrubbing at the grime and muck under her nails. The water that spilled around her feet was an odd reddish-brown colour, she could taste a horrid copper tang on the back of her tongue as though she could breathe in the blood from the air.

After some good scrubbing her hands were clean, but the oil stain was a different story. Water wouldn't help so she didn't waste the energy trying. Instead she went back to searching through cars for something new to wear. She was rifling through a suitcase when Rick returned - alone.

"I got the Walkers." He announced. "But Sophia kept running..." He wiped the sweat from his brow. "She can't have gone far. Daryl, Glenn, Jordyn - everyone. Let's move out."

"I wanna come too." Carol voiced.

"So do I." Carl echoed, amidst the nervous glances of Shane and his parents. "She's my friend."

"I'll stay here," Dale offered. "Keep working on the van."

"Okay, everyone get a bag and some water," Rick instructed. "We leave right now."

The rusted green station wagon behind the camper caught Jordyn's eye, she spotted a suitcase split open at the back wheels with promising looking clothes inside. Squatting down out of sight to find something useful, she found herself an unwilling eavesdropper to a heated argument between Dale and Andrea about the fact that he wouldn't give her back her gun. Then it quickly escalated to the reason Andrea had come out of the CDC was so that she didn't have Dale's blood on her hands, and she was furious that he'd made that decision for her when she had chosen to stay behind with Jacqui and Jenner.

An idea formed in Jordyn's mind as she searched for something to wear. Andrea was angry, and she wanted a way out. Jordyn had a way out. And it sure as hell would come in handy to have a second pair of eyes helping her look for Marnie.

At the bottom of the suitcase she found a plain red t-shirt. Still shielded by the car, she stripped off her black singlet and tossed it aside feeling a strange sense of anxiety when she realized she was going to be leaving it behind. She'd worn that thing since day one, which was probably another reason she should say goodbye to it. It came in handy one last time, she used it to scrub the grease off her abdomen.

Her new shirt was a size too big, but it was clean. Double checking her rifle was secure, Jordyn jogged to join the group as they headed towards the jungle. Andrea hadn't been successful in getting her gun back from Dale, but that didn't stop her from tagging along. Once they were in the forest, the group spread out. Always within eyesight of each other, but out of earshot.

"You don't have another gun, do you?" Andrea asked quietly as she fell into step by Jordyn.

"Just this one." Jordyn shook the strap of her rifle.

"Damn, Dale..." She said bitterly. "He thinks I'm gonna shoot myself the second he gives it back."

"Yeah, I heard your argument." Jordyn said. "And I get it." Andrea briefly locked eyes with her. "He took your choice away." Scratching the back of her neck as a distraction to make sure no one was within earshot. "I have a sister." Jordyn revealed. "Her name's Marnie. She's six years old. And I'm going to find her."

Pausing on the spot, Andrea just stared at Jordyn as she kept walking. "Find her?" She repeated, jogging back beside her. "Where?"

"Everywhere I can think that she might be." Jordyn shrugged. "Jenner told me that the military had evacuation camps," She recited what the doctor had told her. "And I'm going to check my apartment, my parent's place, the school, the bar I worked at; anywhere that my family would come looking for me."

"You're serious." Andrea seemed to just suddenly realized. "Does anyone else know about this plan of yours?"

Seeing as Daryl hadn't sold her out to anyone as of yet Jordyn didn't see the need to bring him into things now so she simply shook her head and said nothing. "You could come with me." She finally offered.

Andrea paused only briefly on the spot and didn't stop walking. "What?"

"Dale took away your choice." Jordyn pointed out. "I'm giving you another one. You don't have to come with me, but if you want to I won't say no. There's a choice."

* * *

><p>By the time the sun began to set in the distance, they were still yet to find Sophia. They found a church inhabited by Walkers, a tent with a decaying body inside and a creepy graveyard; but no Sophia. Jordyn was getting anxious, for Sophia and for Marnie. All she had wanted to do was get her own car when they'd passed the highway and then she was going to head off on her own that night, the Walker invasion and Dale's busted camper had socked a heavy dent into that idea.<p>

It seemed selfish to abandon the search for one little girl to go on a hunt for another. Especially when no one knew Marnie except Jordyn, she was just a name to all of these people. Sophia was a face, a voice, a smile that everyone noticed was missing. Maybe it was a mistake to leave, but as much as Jordyn wanted to find Sophia, she wanted to find Marnie so much more. Andrea hadn't made any indication to Jordyn that she was up for a trek back to the city, but that didn't shake her resolve. Her mind was ready. It was time to go.

While everyone caught their breath and decided on their next move after clearing the walkers from the church, Lori, Rick and Carol went inside. Jordyn found herself walking towards Shane with an apologetic smile on her face.

"What's up?" He asked her.

"I'm going back to Atlanta." Jordyn blurted out.

"What?" Shane appeared like he hadn't heard her.

"My sister is there." Jordyn continued. "Or _was_ there. Something happened to her and I can't sit around here just wondering what it is."

"Jordyn-" Shane looked confused.

"I'm going." Her smile widened as her confidence grew. "I'm going alone, I'll take one of the cars back on the highway. I won't steal any guns. But I'm going." Leaning forwards, she pecked a kiss on Shane's rough cheek, a small thank you for him saving her life all those weeks ago. "Say goodbye to Lori for me."

"Whoa," Shane grabbed her elbow as she passed him. "Jordyn, are... are you sure about this?"

Jordyn could see the uncertainty in his eyes, the lack of confidence in her plan, the Sheriff part of him that wanted to accompany her and the realistic part that saw how much he needed to stay put with Rick.

"Yes," She answered. "I am." He let go of her arm. "I'll see you soon." She had no idea how much truth was in that statement, but she hoped it was accurate. And she was already nervous of the reunion with Lori that would no doubt deliver a shower of yells at taking off with no notice. But when that happened, Jordyn would have Marnie with her. It would be worth it.

There was enough sunlight for Jordyn to get back on the trail they had made hiking through to the church, and Jordyn had almost put it out of sight when she heard footsteps crunch through the ground behind her. Hand spinning her rifle around to use the butt of it if she needed to, Jordyn turned and saw Daryl plus his crossbow glaring at her.

"You're really going?"

Jordyn nodded. "Yes, I'm going."

"Suicide mission." He spat. "Walker'll pick you off before you get back on the highway. That swarm'll come back."

"I'm not stupid. I'm not crazy. Look," She held her hands up palms facedown to make a point that her nerves were sound. "Steady hands. This isn't a whim." She chewed her bottom lip. "I'll be back."

"You don't know she's out there."

"No, I don't." Jordyn admitted. "And that's why I'm going. Doesn't it drive you nuts not knowing where Merle is? You said he was the toughest guy you'd ever known-"

"Yeah he is, but he ain't a little girl." Daryl pointed out.

It was a pointless argument, Jordyn's had been made up for days and she was already behind in her plan. "I'm not waiting anymore." She said. "Take care of Glenn."

With a half-smile Jordyn turned away and was back on her path to the highway. Despite her discouraging run ins with Shane and Daryl, she felt strong; her nerves were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they were just masked by audaciousness. Whatever the reason, she felt positive for the first time in as long as she could remember. Going to her apartment, her family home, she'd get her answers. Good or bad.

The highway was still freakishly silent with cars smashed together, bodies strewn about, and clothes and toys scattered everywhere like a house had exploded. Jordyn felt the familiar icy trickle down the back of her neck as she tread through it all like it was a minefield; she didn't want to disturb any slightly unconscious Walkers that might be lurking nearby.

Each vehicle she passed she inspected for keys, fuel, tires, and people; she needed a car to get out of here. Along the way, she passed Daryl's van and grabbed her bag from the back. It might end up being useless, but Jordyn didn't want to leave it behind like she had her black singlet.

Dale was at the front of his camper fiddling with the engine when he noticed Jordyn. "Hey there." He suddenly looked alarmed. "Sophia?"

"No, no, everything's okay." Jordyn said quickly. "Well, not okay, but y'know..." She said sidestepping a flattened Walker under an SUV. "How's the van?"

"Double checking the hose." Dale replied. "Well, quadruple checking. I figure if people - living people - come past here, a camper's gonna look like a gold mine." He reattached the grill to the camper. "It helps my nerves to check everything's in good, working order if we need to clear out..." He trailed off seeing Jordyn's gun secured to her back and the bag in her hand. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Not feeling like going through the story again, and sure that someone would fill him in, Jordyn gave yet another hug to a friend and patted his back. "Stuff to do, now's the time to do it."

"Jordyn, this is-"

Jordyn held up her hand to shush him. "I'm not looking for your approval, I'm just letting you know I'm heading out." She laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Be careful." Dale nodded at something behind her. "All of you."

"All of us?" Jordyn followed Dale's gaze over her shoulder and let herself smile. Striding towards her, crossbow in his hand and bag over her shoulder were Daryl and Andrea.

**xxx**


	9. Pseudo Making It

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries :)_

**Chapter 9: Pseudo Making It**

Jordyn couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief as, once again, she was staring out the windshield of Daryl's truck at the empty road up ahead. But it was different than before; now she was having a hard time believing that she was moving forward with her plan to find Marnie. And Atlanta was in her sights again.

If she'd had guessed which two people would have come with her had she asked, Daryl and Andrea would not have been candidates. Part of her felt guilty for not asking Glenn, but she knew that had she asked he would have agreed just because of who he was. And Jordyn didn't want anyone tagging along just to make sure she was okay.

But there they sat: an odd trio in a rundown truck with a motorcycle in the back. Daryl had suggested they take it with them should they need to wade through traffic again as they had back at the highway, and, with some convincing, Jordyn had managed to get Andrea's gun back from Dale. Dale felt safe returning it, presumably because it was still in pieces from when Shane had dismantled it and Andrea was still learning how to put it together.

Squeezed between her two comrades, Jordyn was becoming aware that she would have to put her Big Plan into action. Travelling there was the easy part.

"So... you got a plan here, J?" Daryl asked from behind the wheel as he steered them off a back road.

"I figure I stop by my place first." Jordyn was grateful that she'd at least made that decision.

"You live with your family?" Andrea asked, eyeing the rifle perched on Jordyn's knees.

"No, I have my own apartment just outside the city." Jordyn replied, slipping her gun down under her feet having not been comfortable setting it in the back with Daryl's crossbow.

"You said Jenner told you the military had evacuation plans," Andrea brought up. "You think that's true?"

Jordyn nodded. "He didn't have a reason to lie." Daryl made a noise under his breath. "But look at what happened at the CDC," She continued. "If that screwed up so bad imagine what it was like herding up thousands of panicking people."

* * *

><p>The feeling that came over Jordyn when they pulled up to the front of her apartment building was one she hadn't felt before. It was her home, but she felt a strange feeling like she shouldn't go inside and disturb anything.<p>

Daryl checked the rear view mirrors for Walkers before venturing out of the car to get his crossbow. Jordyn followed him, her heart banging against her ribcage as she got a good look of her cul-de-sac. This had been her home for six years and she had never seen it deserted as it was now. Normally there were children playing, dogs running around, and just the general hum of a suburban street. Now all Jordyn could hear was her own heartbeat against the wind. From the front pocket of her bag in the back of the truck she pulled out her set of house keys.

While quaint, her apartment building wasn't all that modern when it came to amenities. There was only enough parking spaces for half the residents, so everyone generally parked on the curb. Where Jordyn would normally see the Harris family van and Mrs. Connolly's ancient sedan, she saw knocked over garbage cans and fallen trees.

"One of these yours?" Daryl asked, scanning the vehicles through the sight of his crossbow as he surveyed the area.

"No," Jordyn held her rifle like a club; going into the confined apartment space meant keeping things as quiet as possible. "It's still at the bar."

The front doors were smashed through with glass littering the carpeted foyer. Rounding the staircase they came across their first band of Walkers. Dead. They were lining up the hallway like decaying dominos that had toppled over. Each of their heads was missing quite a sizable portion; someone had fought them back.

"What floor?" Daryl asked as they made their way in deeper.

"Twelfth."

Daryl swung around to the fire escape. "Guess we're walking."

It was on the stairs of the fifth floor where the trio came into contact with their first mobile Walkers. Two young women. Jordyn recognized them by their clothes; waitress uniforms from the burger joint two blocks over. The Speedle Sisters. Jordyn's neighbours.

Kacey, the eldest sister, was the more "put together" of the two of them. She still had all her limbs, but her jaw was missing. Tobie had suffered quite severely and was in pieces. One arm dangled off her elbow swinging like a leaf in the breeze. Her right leg was torn off at the kneecap and dripped oozing grey sludge in a puddle at her foot. The sight of her torso made Jordyn's stomach flip; it looked as though a shark had just bitten a half-circle from her body. As a result, Tobie was always slumped to the one side unable to right herself.

Daryl shot an arrow through Kacey's head without even pausing. Tobie growled, seeing them, and tried to make her way towards them. But every time she tried to step down she'd fall to the one side and tumble. Andrea almost flung herself off the edge avoiding one of Tobie's awkward rolls down the steps.

"Screw it," Daryl said, abandoning his attempts to reload his crossbow. Instead he strode over to Tobie and kicked her head clean off with one swipe. "Easier." He jogged back up the stairs, pulling his arrow from Kacey's skull as he passed her.

"Did you know them?" Andrea asked as she and Jordyn sidestepped around the body.

"Yeah, a little." Jordyn said, quickly jogging through. "Come on."

Taking the lead, Jordyn lead them up the rest of the flights of stairs. They came across a half-dozen or so decapitated Walkers, but no more on their feet. Jordyn was panting by the time they reached the twelfth floor fire escape; she'd forgotten what a bitch those stairs were. Two summers before, the elevator had broken and she found the trek so hideous she camped out at her mother's for the weekend it took to get repaired.

Her heart lifted slightly when she saw her front door. 12F. And it was still shut. With relief she fished the key from her pocket and unlocked her home.

It was the smallest, and therefore cheapest, apartment on this floor. It was a one bedroom, but Jordyn preferred to keep her bed out in the studio and use the room as a study/storage/guest room. It took all of thirty seconds to confirm that not only was her place empty, but it hadn't been touched since she'd left it all those months ago.

Behind her, Jordyn heard both Andrea and Daryl exhale and lower their weapons as the tension among them immediately evaporated. At least for the moment, they were safe.

Optimistically, Jordyn hit the light switch to no avail. Electricity was out; but they had a couple of hours of daylight left and she had torches and candles somewhere. The reality that she'd be sleeping in her own bed for the first time in so long hit her with such a rush that she smiled.

"This is your family?" Andrea asked, plucking a family portrait from a hook on the wall by the bathroom door.

"Yeah," Jordyn's eyes glanced over the picture taken on a family holiday to the beach the year before. It was one of the few pictures Jordyn had of all of them together, normally her mother was behind the camera.

This was one of the few times they had managed to convince Olivia to flag down another beachgoer to take the photo of them. It was Jordyn's favourite. Her mother stood in the middle like the matriarch, Michael was on her left holding a laughing Connor upside down, and Jordyn was on the right holding Marnie on her hip, the pair of them wearing matching bright yellow and blue sunhats.

"Your mum is..."

"Young, I know." Jordyn finished for her. "She had me when she was sixteen. Michael's my stepfather, Connor and Marnie are their kids."

"Where's your father?" Daryl asked peering at the picture over Andrea's shoulder.

"He overdosed when I was a baby. He was young, too." Taking the picture from Andrea's hands, Jordyn set it back in place on the wall. "I was named after him." The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, she pushed it all the way open feeling, for the first time since she'd lived there, like it was actually clean. "Shower should work. It'll be cold, but the pressure's good."

"Great, shotgun." Andrea volunteered herself.

"Use whatever you want," Jordyn told her. "There are towels under the sink, and I should have something you can wear."

"Thanks." Andrea smiled and retreated into the bathroom.

If Dale were here Jordyn imagined he'd ask her to keep the door open, but Jordyn didn't bother to bring it up. And she also didn't bother to tell Andrea the lock was broken.

Daryl was ransacking her kitchen cupboards when Jordyn went back to him, Andrea's gleeful squeal as she turned on the shower in the background. "I have no idea what I have." She admitted, sliding comfortably into her seat at her kitchen table.

"You have some good stuff." Daryl replied taking cans of powdered milk from the back of her pantry. "Don't remember the last time I had milk."

"Marnie likes it." Jordyn said vaguely, taking in the familiarity of her home. "More than regular milk. And you can't sneak it past her, she knows the taste." A sudden realization came over Jordyn as she remembered the reason she had stocked up on powdered milk was because Connor and Marnie were supposed to stay with her that night so long ago.

"Catch." Daryl threw a box at her.

Jordyn smiled. Her Pop Tarts had survived all this time. Suddenly she craved cold milk and hot, melted, toasted, sugar snacks. Her eyes fell on her fridge, illuminated with bright drawings from Marnie and her newly acquired paint set from her birthday earlier in the year.

"Do you have a bag or something to carry all this?"

"Ah, yeah," Jordyn hadn't been watching him but he'd accumulated a small pile of food from her cupboard. She lived alone, it was easier to by pre-packaged food than to cook for herself so she had a lot of snack foods that, although probably a little stale, would still taste good. "In the guest room." Daryl moved to leave the kitchen but Jordyn shot up and stopped him. "I'll get it."

For some reason she couldn't identify, she didn't want Daryl in that room. Or Andrea. Or anyone. It wasn't rational, and considering they were all sleeping there that night Jordyn knew she'd have to get over it, but at least for the first time she wanted to go in there alone.

The bed was ready for Connor and Marnie to curl up on like they did all the time. Their favourite pillows were in place, their favourite blanket was folded on the cushion, and a stack of their favourite books and games were on the bedside table. It was a normal Saturday night for when Jordyn babysat. It always went the same way, the kids would come over and play. They'd order take out, play some more and fall asleep watching a movie. Lately Marnie had been having trouble sleeping, so she'd crawl in with Jordyn and beg for a story.

Jordyn's breath caught in her throat when she wondered if, wherever Marnie was, she was able to sleep. And if not, was she with someone who would read to her?

Biting down on her trembling lip, Jordyn searched the cupboard and found an old duffle bag that Michael had given her when she moved in filled with random household stuff like a wooden spoon and a colander. He maintained that it was a better option than bothering with boxes.

"Here," She handed the bag to Daryl back in the kitchen. "That work?"

Daryl gave her a strange look as he took the bag. "What?" He asked, immediately tensing up.

"Nothing," Jordyn assured him, he seemed ready to grab his crossbow. "It's just weird being here again." She managed to smile despite her clenched jaw.

"You're lucky you get to go home." He started packing the bag with supplies. "Even if it is just for a night."

Now, Jordyn tensed. She didn't want to leave. Of course, she had to, but she didn't want to. Something about being home again made her feel like everything else would go back to normal soon enough. She was in her home, never mind the fact it was with two people she didn't know that well and Walker's lined the halls, it was her home and it was in one piece. Her heart ached to think of leaving it again.

Andrea was as happy as Jordyn could remember seeing her in a long time when she emerged clean from the bathroom. Handing over a pair of cotton sweatpants and a blue t-shirt, Jordyn left Andrea to settle in the guest room and then retreated for her shower.

It felt like forever ago that she had stared at herself in the mirror of the CDC building. Her appearance wasn't as shocking as it had been to her then, but she still had trouble believing who she saw was Jordyn Emery. Her reflection looked like a vague shell of who she thought she was.

Annoyed with her self-deprecation, Jordyn removed her clothes and hopped into the shower. The water wasn't freezing, but it sure as hell wasn't warm either. Still, she got immense comfort from just being in her own shower with her shampoo and conditioner, her loofah, her razor, her soap, even the missing HOT label off one of the taps calmed her.

Making a mental note to collect all the soap, toilet paper, tampons, and everything of use in her bathroom cupboards, Jordyn stepped from her shower and wrapped a towel around her body. Her reflection seemed happier, or maybe it was just the layer of grime she'd managed to scrub from her skin.

Emerging from the bathroom Jordyn stumbled into Daryl. "Crap, what?" She asked.

"No, nothing." He said briefly eying her up and down. "Just locking the front door, checking that its locked."

"Oh." Jordyn stood aside. "You can use it now." As she headed for the guest room she didn't see him sneak a second look at her walking away.

"Do you sleep in here?" Andrea asked as she sleepily watched Jordyn select clothes.

"No, I sleep out in the main room. I just keep my stuff in here." She grabbed a pair of long pyjama pants and a white t-shirt. "You can sleep here, it's fine." By the time she turned, Andrea's eyes were already closed.

Doubting that Daryl would share a bed with Andrea, or rather that Andrea would share one with him, Jordyn took a spare blanket and pillow from her cupboard and carried them out to the couch. Having fallen asleep on it a few times herself she knew it was just as comfortable as her bed, so Daryl would be pleased.

Taking her Pop Tarts to her bed, Jordyn sat staring at her TV and eating the slightly stale, uncooked chocolate. Her body was still cold from her shower and the room had a faint smell of bad milk and too much dust, but it felt like home again.

* * *

><p>A freezing gust of wind shocked Jordyn out of a deep sleep. Sitting bolt upright in her bed she stared around in the dark, wondering where the hell she was.<p>

"What?" A gruff voice grunted from her right.

The wind furled her familiar cream curtains reminding Jordyn that she was in her apartment. "The windows open."

"I opened it." Daryl promptly rolled over and fell back to sleep.

Chest heaving, Jordyn's eyes adjusted to the moonlit room. She could see the silhouette of her body on her bed and the vague shadow of shirtless Daryl asleep on her couch. Flopping back into her pillows, Jordyn took a deep breath. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. What was left of her Pop Tarts had fallen on the floor and her wet hair had dampened her pillow, that plus the added wind sent a chill over her skin making her curl up in a ball with her blankets tight at her neck.

It had been so long since she'd slept like that, just fallen dead asleep from exhaustion. No dreaming, no tiredness, just lying down and blacking out. It unnerved her; like her body was running its own show.

Blinking at the blackness of her apartment, Jordyn's mind started to think to the next day. They would be passing Ted's Bar to check for supplies if nothing more; and then to her parents home. Chances were they weren't going to be there, there was a good chance nothing would be there, but it would be a step forward, a mark to check off on her list.

A sudden thought crossed her mind; should she be asking Daryl and Andrea if they wanted to check out their homes for families? Andrea had been travelling with Amy to college so Jordyn was pretty sure she didn't live nearby, Daryl, however, she wasn't sure. Glancing over at him as he slept, Jordyn wondered if he was out here looking for Merle more than looking for Marnie. They were back in the same city he'd lost his brother, it would make sense that he had another reason for being out here other than just helping her out.

Closing her eyes, Jordyn put it out of her mind for the moment. It was their first day on the road, and her goal was to find her sister. That had to be at the forefront of her mind, not what her friend's agendas may or may not be. Peering out one eye at Daryl again, she felt bad for not having found him something to wear to bed like she had Andrea, she knew she had some male clothes somewhere in her cupboard, but Daryl seemed quite comfortable sleeping shirtless. He didn't have reason to cover anything up, even in the dark Jordyn could see that.

* * *

><p>Leaving her apartment in the morning was much more difficult than Jordyn had imagined, and not just because she didn't want to leave. Apparently, the night off that the trio had all enjoyed had given the Walkers time to converge in the street.<p>

Andrea, Jordyn and Daryl each had their arms full when they arrived at the bottom of the fire escape stairs. Jordyn had locked up her apartment, hoping she would be able to come back to it at again. But just in case they didn't get the chance, she had packed up a bunch of her clothes that she had particularly missed, some photo albums and documents like her birth certificate, just in case. Daryl carried his bag of food from her cupboard, and Andrea was carting a duffle bag full of bathroom paraphernalia.

It had seemed silly to leave this stuff behind, but staring out at the sea of Walkers ambling just a few feet from Daryl's truck, it seemed silly to have bothered with the extra baggage.

"We could go one at a time?" Andrea suggested. "I'll take the bags, you two cover me?"

"Can't we just run for it?" Jordyn asked. "Bags in the back, us in the front seat, drive off? No matter what we do, the second we start up the engine they're gonna hear us, I figure the faster we get in the car the better."

"I'm with you." Daryl said, adjusting his grip in his crossbow. "On three?"

Jordyn nodded. "Three." She ordered, leaping from her spot and sprinting to the truck. She could hear Daryl and Andrea right behind her.

Up ahead, they were noticed. Two Walkers bumped into each other, and when turning around they noticed the trio piling into the car and let out hungry grunts of frustration. That alerted the army of Walkers stumbling around in the street who all immediately turned in their direction.

"Go!" Andrea yelled, locking her door.

To her surprise Jordyn found herself behind the wheel. "Keys, keys, keys," She smacked Daryl as he searched his pockets. "If you left them inside I'll kill you-"

"Here, here!" Daryl found them in his back pocket and shoved them into the ignition as a Walker growled at the driver's side window.

"Shit!" Jordyn swore, turning over the engine and yanking the gear into reverse. She'd driven the truck before, but never in such a dire situation so she didn't know how much power it could wield until she backed directly into a group of Walkers and still kept reversing.

Spinning the wheel, Jordyn heard the wet crunch of bodies under the wheel, but she was distracted by the swarm now directly in front of her. Slamming the gear into drive, Jordyn floored the pedal and burned rubber circling the curb up the street. Walker's groaned and reached for the car as she drove by but the car soon sped up way ahead leaving them behind.

"Jesus, Jordyn!" Andrea gasped as they dodged more Walkers again to get onto the main road.

"What?" Jordyn gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles drained of colour. "What happened?"

"You drive like a maniac!"

Jordyn relaxed off the pedal. "Sorry..." She said, loosening her grip on the wheel. "I haven't mowed down Walkers before."

"Coulda fooled me." Daryl nodded in approval.

"What if there's one in the back?" Jordyn was panicking. "Or on the roof? Or under the car?"

"They're not, they can't hang on that long." Daryl assured her, but he looked over his shoulder out the back window to check anyway.

But Jordyn was convinced they must have an extra on board so she slammed the breaks and they skidded to a stop right in the middle of the street. It took both Andrea and Daryl off guard, both just catching themselves before colliding with the windscreen.

"Sonuvabitch, what are you doing?" Daryl snapped.

"There's one on the roof, I know it!" Jordyn said, jumping out of the car without bothering to turn off the engine. She dropped right to her feet to check underneath the car.

"There's nothing, would you get back in?" Daryl followed her out of the car and pulled her to her feet.

"No, no, check!" Jordyn cried, frantically checking the back even though there was no room for a Walker with the motorbike and all their bags.

"Look!" Daryl pointed behind her.

Jordyn's heart dropped. A dozen Walkers were heading in their direction from the alley two houses down.

"Let's go." He grabbed her forearm and shoved her in beside Andrea who put her arm around Jordyn's shoulders.

Without a look at the gang of the undead marching towards them, Daryl drove ahead.

Jordyn was shaking and she wasn't sure why. Adrenaline, or maybe panic was just sending her crazy. The further away they drove from danger, the more she felt like a hysterical idiot. If it had been Andrea or Lori making them stop she would have told wanted to tell them to shut up and get on with it, but it was troublesome to her that she couldn't seem to follow that rule herself.

* * *

><p>By the time they were back in the city, Jordyn had calmed right down and felt completely foolish about her outburst. She was grateful that neither of her passengers made a mention of it; and she hoped that they were just forgetting it like she intended to do.<p>

Ted's Bar was on the outskirts of the city and was empty at the best of times. This area of town had been decimated by Walkers already, Jordyn assumed it was one of the first areas they hit coming in from the outer suburbs. Not that there weren't Walkers, there were. But most of them were dead or in pieces scattered along the street, or in rough piles against the sidewalk as though someone had come through in an attempt to clean up but then realized what a pointless waste of effort that was.

Rifle tight in her hands, Jordyn lead the way towards the entrance of the bar, scanning the street for her car which wasn't where she'd left it, parked out the front of business. "Where's my car?" She muttered. Then her eyes fell on deep skid marks across the sidewalk ending in her navy blue hatchback crushed against the brick wall of the alley. "There it is..."

"Damn." Daryl said letting out a low whistle.

"Oh, no," Jordyn shook her head as she approached what remained of her car. As vehicles go, she loved this one. It was compact and relatively cheap to maintain. To see it slammed against a wall, folded in on itself, all windows smashed and wheels missing was quite devastating. "Oh, no."

"Let's move inside, shall we?" Daryl said backing away from the street. A couple of Walkers at the streetlights were beginning to drift towards them. "Quietly?"

Andrea had to pull Jordyn away from her ruined vehicle and through the wide open front door of the bar. Daryl shut and locked it after they were all inside, but it wasn't going to have much of an effect seeing as the glass window that looked out into the street had been annihilated.

Keeping her rifle up like a club, Jordyn stepped carefully into the bar. Sprawled bodies of Walkers littered the floor, many more than she had seen the day Shane had picked her up. She wondered if people had come in seeking refuge and instead faced a horde of the bloodthirsty undead; or if perhaps it was the Walkers who had ventured in looking for food.

"Where's this water you mentioned before?" Andrea asked.

"The basement." Jordyn replied, suddenly overcome with horror that she would have to go down there again.

"I'll keep watch, you two go." Daryl instructed, flinging open the basement door and carefully inspecting the Walkers bodies to make sure they weren't about to reanimate.

Following Andrea, Jordyn made it halfway down the staircase before she had to stop. Her eyes were drawn to the frail, crumpled little body of her infected brother. But with a shock she realized that he wasn't where she had left him all those weeks ago. Connor, along with the White Dress wearing Walker Jordyn who had been Jordyn's first kill, had been shifted up against the wall and each covered with a blanket.

"Jordyn?" Andrea was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a case of water in her arms. "Is everything..." Her eyes followed Jordyn's state across the room. "Oh, God." She set the water down and ran up the stairs, pulling Jordyn along. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think." She pushed Jordyn out of the basement.

"What?" Daryl asked, alarmed.

"Nothing." Andrea said quickly pulling the door half-closed and jogged back down the stairs.

"My brother's down there." Jordyn told Daryl.

"Oh..." He looked at his feet. "Sorry."

"Someone moved him."

"Huh?"

"Someone moved him." Jordyn repeated. "And there was this other Walker, this girl who attacked me; someone moved her, too."

"Maybe the cops came in here?"

"And left all of these people?" Jordyn swung her hand at the field of Walkers in front of them. "And nothing else down there was missing, no water or food."

Daryl shrugged. "Maybe someone started clearing them up and got bit?"

"Yeah..." Briefly, Jordyn considered that maybe Ted had come back to check out the damage to his bar. Maybe he was one of these bodies that lay before her.

"Let's go," Andrea came up from the basement with three pallets of water towering in her arms. "Walkers coming, I heard 'em."

Taking two stacks of water, Jordyn waded through Walkers with Andrea behind Daryl as he and his crossbow lead them back out into the street and back to the truck. Much calmer than she had been before, Jordyn managed to place the water in the back of the truck, wedging it against the wheel of the bike.

Andrea offloaded her pallet of water to Jordyn and climbed into the car beside Daryl behind the wheel. Jordyn secured the third pallet of water so it wouldn't knock around and even had time to look back and see the Walkers stumbling towards her. It wasn't smart just to stop and stare, but she wanted them to know she wasn't afraid. That she could stare at them and they wouldn't frighten her. Not again.

At Andrea's insistence, Jordyn climbed into the passenger's side and slammed the door shut. The truck sped off around the corner leaving the wandering Walkers to wander about on their own. With renewed energy, Jordyn took up the role of navigator and directed Daryl to her mother's home.

* * *

><p>The family car was missing, giving Jordyn hope that maybe her mother had managed to drive it out of town with her baby sister in tow. Sprinting up the porch she burst through the front door without bothering to be quiet. "Mum!" She called down the halls.<p>

"SSH!" Andrea hissed from behind her.

"Check upstairs." Jordyn instructed her as she started weaving through the house.

It had that same, musty smell that her home did but this one was in much worse shape than her apartment. It had been looted, repeatedly. All of the electronics were gone, someone had stolen all the food from the fridge and it was tipped on its side, the cupboards had been ransacked, even the linen closet had been stripped.

"Christ." Jordyn cursed when she noticed even most of the cups and plates were gone. "Why would they take all this?"

"People go crazy, do crazy things." Daryl said simply, peering out the window into the backyard.

"Jordyn?" From upstairs, Andrea's voice was strained.

Sharing a look of worry, Daryl and Jordyn took off flying up the stairs two at a time, gripping their weapons, in preparation to take down the Walker they expected to see.

Only when Jordyn rushed into her parent's room, she didn't see Walkers. And for the first time since all this had started, she wished she did.

On the bed tucked in and holding one another, were her the bodies of her mother and stepfather. The smell of decay was overpowering and signalled that they had been dead for weeks. Their skin was a sickly, yellowish grey and clung tightly to the bones in their faces. Their hair had started to fall out and they were so skinny they barely looked like themselves. One thing Jordyn was sure of as she stared at her parents lifeless faces was that they hadn't been touched by the infection, there were none of the Walker signs. Even the fact that they were pleasantly lying in a bed was an anomaly.

"Ma...?" Jordyn voiced uselessly as she edged towards her mother, expecting her to wake up and immediately morph back into the Olivia she so desperately wanted. Her watering eyes fell on the nightstand. It was littered with a handful of pill bottles and two empty wine glasses with red wine residue pooled at the bottom.

Feeling lightheaded, Jordyn noticed a white note folded by her mother's head. Reaching for it, she carefully unfolded it and saw that it was a photo, a copy of the same one Jordyn had framed back at her apartment by the bathroom door. Only this one was frameless and had something written on the back. It was a note penned in her mother's delicate scrawl.

_We can all be together now._

**xxx**


	10. Consider This

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries  
><em>

**Chapter 10: Consider This**

Daryl could do nothing more but lower his head to Jordyn as she exited her parents' bedroom leaving their bodies behind. He couldn't figure out the expression on her face, she was crying but her face was blank. Quickly catching his eye, Andrea followed after Jordyn and Daryl found himself alone in the room with two corpses. He did the only thing he could think of doing and pulled the blanket up over their heads.

He wasn't sure what the right thing to do was; in fact he had no idea. In the back of his mind he thought they should be buried but he didn't know if he should wait for Jordyn to ask or if she even wanted to do it.

The smell became too much so Daryl retreated into the hall. He jogged down the stairs and saw Andrea watching Jordyn crouched on the floor scooping books into her arms. "What's she doing?"

"Cleaning." Andrea said with a shrug. "She doesn't want help."

"When I finish cleaning, we should leave." Jordyn said efficiently as she stacked books back on the shelf. "This house isn't safe."

"Jordyn, what do you want us to do?" Andrea asked gently.

"Think we should bury them?" Daryl asked. Andrea shot him a look. He'd been ridiculed for being abrupt all this life; but it wasn't something he sought to change.

"We don't have time." Jordyn replied, straightening a chipped vase on the coffee table.

"I can dig pretty fast." Daryl offered. "We can make time."

"Yeah." Andrea agreed. "Trust me... burying them will help."

"Fine..." Jordyn gave in tiredly, brushing tears from her eyes. "When I finish cleaning."

Clearly she had checked out, snapped, or both, so Daryl just took it upon himself to locate a shovel from the garage and head out into the backyard. The half acre or so behind the Emery-Rhodes house was fenced higher than Daryl's head and it seemed solid, but he took his crossbow with him anyway. Walkers were tricky.

Not sure where to dig, Daryl just chose a spot under one of the trees near the porch and started shovelling. He measured out the width and length of the double grave with long strides. As he started shifting dirt into a pile by his feet, he had an unexpected thought of Jim and wondered if he had succumbed to the infection and become a geek or if someone had taken him out. And if they had, he was sure they hadn't buried him.

Back at their little camp they had buried their dead, with Glenn's insistence that they not be burned like the Walker bodies. It suddenly struck Daryl that, apart from Amy, he couldn't remember any of their names. For that matter, he didn't know Jordyn's parents names either even though he was sure he'd heard her mention them.

He could have asked her about them and he was pretty sure she would have answered, but Daryl could tell she liked her privacy and preferred to keep quiet. It wasn't until their trek to find Merle that Daryl had even really noticed her. Her soft face was gentle and kind, but so empty of expression that it made people think twice before approaching her. He had watched Amy braid Jordyn's hair once, and even when Amy apologized for tugging too hard Jordyn's face barely flinched. He had wondered back then what she must have seen to make her so blank.

Thinking back, Daryl found it particularly odd that Jordyn had even bothered joining the search for Merle. He would never have guessed that she'd volunteer to look for his ass of a brother. Although now he wondered if she had gone back into the city with the ulterior motive of searching for her family. He wasn't bothered much if that was the case, he was doing a similar thing.

He'd offered to help her find her sister. Merle would have laughed at him, questioned his motives in leaving, and tried to talk him out of it. And if Merle were here, Daryl would have listened to him. But he wasn't here. Daryl had to make his own decision and he chose to find Marnie.

Merle was a steel-assed son of a bitch, and though Daryl missed him he knew that he would be okay. He'd survive; nothing could take down his big brother. Jordyn's little sister was only a kid and she was lost. Daryl didn't know if they'd find her, but it was a shot. A slim shot, but it was better than nothing.

Getting the bodies downstairs was a royal bitch. Daryl recruited Andrea to help. The dead couple had been holding each other when they died so their limbs had gone into rigor and set in place like a decayed corpse statue tipped on its side. Daryl figured that the easiest way was to wrap them in the sheets they were on and carry them at the same time.

Jordyn was in the kitchen when they struggled past her with the bodies. She heard them, turning her head ever so slightly, but she didn't look as her attention was focused on cleaning dishes.

They managed to get the bodies to the grave without stopping; laying them inside as carefully as they could manage. They were deadweight, it was tricky to be respectful.

"I'll get her." Andrea offered, wiping sweat off her brow as she headed back to the porch.

The mother's hand stuck out of the sheets bent on a strange angle. As Daryl knelt to tuck it under the sheet he saws a silver ring with a ocean blue stone loosely fitting her middle finger of her right hand. Pausing for only a brief moment, Daryl removed the ring from her thin, bony finger and stuck it in his pocket.

Making sure the bodies were completely covered, Daryl leant against the shovel to catch his breath. He thought he'd wait for Jordyn to come out before filling in the grave, he thought she might want to do it herself.

Andrea lead Jordyn out of the house by her arms and lead her to the graves. That blank look was on her face again; she was shock white and her eyes were glazed over. Andrea posed her at the edge of the grave and let her go. Jordyn's gaze drifted into the grave and she clenched her fists tight at her sides.

"I, ah," Daryl removed the ring from his pocket and held it out to Jordyn. "I took that... if you want it...?"

Slowly, as though it took her great energy to do so, she looked up at him, and then at his hand. Her fingers plucked the ring from his palm and clasped between her fingers.

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Andrea spoke. "Do you want to say something?" She asked Jordyn quietly.

"No." Jordyn said, running her fingers over the ring in her hand. "They didn't believe in anything specific."

"Doesn't matter," Andrea persisted. "We could still-"

"No." Stepping forward, Jordyn took a handful of dirt and drizzled it from her hand onto the sheet covered bodies. Slowly she rose to her feet and turned to Daryl. "Thank you." She gave them both a very strange smile. "I'm going to lie down."

Following suit, Andrea grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it over the bodies before following Jordyn inside. Daryl grabbed the shovel and prepared to start filling in the grave. He paused, just before he scooped the first shovelful, sighed, knelt down and added his own handful of soil.

After the last of the dirt had been placed and his back stung with a piercing twinge, Daryl was finally finished. Glancing around at the diminishing sunlight he knew they couldn't stay at the Emery-Rhodes house for the night, it just wasn't safe and they didn't have the time to board it up. It was stupid to waste the time trying. Daryl was too exhausted from grave digging anyway.

Returning the shovel to the garage (he assumed if he didn't Jordyn would anyway given her sudden urge to clean and organize), Daryl found Andrea in the study by the kitchen straightening up papers that had been strewn all over the desk that had once held a computer.

"I'm done." He said. "We should go before it gets too dark."

"Ok," Andrea nodded. "Jordyn's upstairs."

This seemed to be a cue to him to go and get her because Andrea didn't stop what she was doing. He found her in her parent's bedroom sitting by the window in the corner. As he edged towards her he noticed the window looked out to the newly dug graves. He wondered if she had been watching him dig.

Hearing his footsteps, Jordyn turned. Grief had done a number on her, her face was drawn with dark circles bruised under her eyes. Her brown hair had been tied up but was falling in strands down either side of her face. Her whole expression was of someone who had given up.

"We're finished." Daryl said. "If you want to leave we might be able to get back to your apartment by nightfall; hole up there again." He thought maybe the idea of going somewhere else that she was familiar with might help her get moving, because she did not look motivated as he laid eyes on her.

Jordyn nodded and slowly got to her feet. "There's some food that wasn't stolen, I collected it in a box in the kitchen."

"Okay." Daryl started to leave.

"Would you do me a favour?" Jordyn called after him.

"What?" He turned back to face her. She was on her feet, but looked as though she might fall over.

"You're the last person I would ask and I know you don't want to but," She tried to smile but it just came off wobbly and unsure. "Would you give me a hug?"

He was sure he misheard her. "What?"

Her eyes glistened with tears and her chin quivered. "Daryl, I'd like you to give me a hug."

Swallowing a nervous lump that had formed in his throat, Daryl realized he had two choices. Be a dick to the girl who had just buried her parents, or give in and hopefully get the hell out of here before Walkers closed in. It wasn't really a choice.

Slowly, he crossed the room and stood in front of her, waiting for her to lean forwards and loop her arms around his neck before he tentatively placed his hands at the small of her back.

"Thank you." She said pulling away, smiling slightly stronger. "I'll be ready soon."

He stared after her as she walked past him into the hallway. For some reason a thought occurred to him that he'd picked up at some point in his life, something about how people grieve in different ways and none of those ways was wrong. Some people screamed, some drank, some cried, some laughed, and some did nothing. He wasn't sure what reaction he would prefer from Jordyn; but her current silence was unnerving him.

Jogging downstairs, Daryl relayed to Andrea that they were about to leave and went to the kitchen to grab the food Jordyn had mentioned. It was all neatly stacked in a cardboard box on the countertop. Picking it up in his stride he quickly hurried out to his truck, ducking behind bushes and shrubs in case any Walkers were nearby. This street was empty in comparison to others Daryl had seen, which usually meant they had been hit hardest, stripped clean, and abandoned.

The flap of the leather bag that hung off his bike caught Daryl's eye when he dumped the box of food in the back of his truck. It was tied up like normal; but not in the way that he tied it, which was the same way Merle tied it. Instead it was messily knotted together. Daryl untied it to do it correctly, thinking that it may have come loose and Andrea or Jordyn had just tied it up fast; although he couldn't recall one of Merle's knots failing before.

Then he noticed the bag of drugs.

Merle had a hell of a pharmacy in the back of his bike and Daryl had been using the weaker drugs for his headaches and to help him sleep. He knew exactly how many bottles were in the bag; and as he inspected it he noticed at least four bottles missing.

The realization hit him like a bat over the head, he dropped the pills and sprinted for the house ignoring Andrea's worried calls of his name. He pounded up the staircase and ran for the master bedroom; Jordyn was gone.

"Jordyn?" Daryl checked each room in the hallway but only stopped at the bathroom when something orange got his attention. Merle Dixon's pill bottles lined the sink.

It was the little girls room, her sister's room, where he found her. The walls were soft pink and dolls and toys littered the floor. The bedding was a swirling mix of pink and blue patterns, and in the centre of the mattress was Jordyn, curled into a ball and cradling a stuffed animal to her chest.

"Shit." Daryl cursed rushing to her. "Jordyn?" He moved her onto her back, noting the bluish tinge to her lips. An ear to her chest proved his suspicion that she'd stopped breathing. He held a finger to check her pulse. It was there, but faint.

"Oh, my God!" Andrea cried from the doorway. "What happened?"

"She took a bunch of pills," Daryl frantically scooped Jordyn off the bed and laid her out flat on the floor. "She's not breathing."

"Should we put her in a cold shower?" Andrea suggested.

"No, that doesn't do anything," Daryl said. He'd been through this more than once with Merle, showers didn't wake him up any faster. He tilted back Jordyn's chin and held his ear against it just to make sure, but no breath escaped her lips.

"Oh," Andrea knelt at Jordyn's side and held her hand. "You stupid girl, what did you do?"

"You know CPR?" Daryl asked breathlessly, situating the heel of his hand on the lower-half of Jordyn's breastbone and straightening his elbows. "Tilt her head back, hold her nose and lift her chin."

"Ok..." Andrea let go of her hand and did as Daryl instructed. "Like this?"

"Now breath twice into her mouth," He continued. "Don't let the air out." Daryl's jaw clenched tight as he watched Andrea. When she'd breathed twice into Jordyn's lungs, he started pushing her chest with firm, forceful compressions.

She'd wanted to _hug_ him.

Hell, Andrea had wanted to kill herself after her sister died, the idea had even crossed his mind when he thought Merle might be gone for good. Maybe it was an immediate human reaction when you lost someone in these times; and he hadn't even considered that Jordyn might take her own life. And with his own brother's pills.

When he hit thirty compressions, Daryl stopped, though not game to move his hands and lose his position. "Again, two breaths." He ordered Andrea and watched Jordyn's chest rise as the air was blown into her lungs. He lined his hands up again and started thirty more compressions. When he hit twenty-six, her body twitched.

"Again." He panted to Andrea.

Covering Jordyn's mouth with her own, Andrea breathed for her again.

Preparing to start compressing her chest for a third round, Daryl paused when he saw Jordyn's eyelids flicker. "Wait, stop." Daryl retracted his hands and held Jordyn's face. "Jordyn? Can you hear me?"

Jordyn coughed sharply and began to wretch.

"Roll her on her side." Daryl instructed keeping Jordyn's head tilted up and her airway clear. She vomited violently across the floor, some of the pills hadn't completely dissolved yet.

"Will she be okay?" Andrea asked, her voice shaking.

"We can't drive with her like this," Daryl said, having a hard time catching his breath. He wondered if he'd been holding it in while doing the compressions. "If she passes out again we'd have to stop and do that again." Glancing out the window he saw the sun dip behind the mountains in the distance.

"Well... what about the garage?" Andrea suggested.

Having been in there twice, Daryl considered it might be the best idea. It would be better for Jordyn to be still. And aside from the missing car, the garage was well stocked with heavy tools that could double as weapons if they had a Walker invasion. "Let's go." He lifted Jordyn in his arms, having to balance her on his knee to get to his feet. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed, but she was breathing on her own.

Awkwardly walking sideways down the stairs, Daryl headed through the back door and into the garage. Andrea wasn't behind him, but Jordyn started to wretch again. Swearing, he kicked over a bucket and sat her beside it, she managed to grip the sides before she vomited inside.

"Here, I'm here." Andrea said dashing into the garage with a bag and water bottles in her hand. "Got these from the truck. Can she drink...?" She looked down at Jordyn in disbelief. "Shit..."

"Yeah, shit." Daryl slumped back against the wall to catch his breath; he kept one hand on Jordyn's back to keep her upright. "Give her a sec." He said to Andrea who crouched beside their sick friend, opened her bag and pulled out a facecloth.

"There are Walkers in the street," She said as she poured water into the cloth. "They didn't seem to notice me; they were... old. Like they'd been turned from Day One." Gently she started wiping Jordyn's face, cleaning the vomit off her cheek and holding the damp compress to her forehead.

"That means they'll be hungry." Daryl said, glancing around the garage that would have to keep them safe for the night.

The doors were solid and electric. Not impenetrable, but as long as they kept quiet they should be okay. The only window looked out into the backyard and was high up against the back wall; Walkers would have to climb up three on each other's shoulders to reach it.

"I'm going to make sure the doors are all locked." Daryl scrambled to his feet and armed himself with a heavy wrench.

With the sun setting, the house was shrouded in ominous shadows. Slowly he approached the front door, locked it and secured the chain. From the living room he swiped off the coffee table Jordyn had spent her time reorganizing and flipped it so its side wedged under the front door. Then with a dining chair, he did the same to the back door. The curtains were open on most of the windows, and though he wanted to shut them Daryl left them, thinking Walkers might think no one was in there or they would have closed the blinds. If Walkers thought at all...

From upstairs, Daryl grabbed some pillows and blankets and headed back to the basement, grabbing his crossbow off the kitchen bench as he passed it. Andrea was tending to Jordyn like a nursemaid when he got back to the garage. She had her laying across her lap, holding the compress to her forehead and stroking her hair.

"Here." Daryl passed the pillows and blankets to Andrea. "You sleep, I'll keep watch. One of us has to drive tomorrow. We can leave first light."

"Will she be able to travel then?"

Daryl had no clue why he was asking her; he knew CPR but that was the length of his medical knowledge. He could kill stuff and cut shit up; but that was about it. "She'll be fine." He said for lack of anything else to say.

Night closed in fast. None of them bothered searching for a light; the moon was enough to keep them for as long as they were hidden. Andrea stayed up with Jordyn for a few hours, helping her to throw up twice more and getting her to take some water. If Jordyn could talk; she was purposely keeping quiet.

Daryl closed his eyes, keeping a firm grip on his crossbow and listening to the sounds of the night mixed with far away Walker grunts and groans. The new sounds of the night. A soft rumble of thunder made him open his eyes; and that was when he noticed that Jordyn was staring at him. And the look was one he'd been given by women repeatedly in his life; she was pissed.

**xxx**


	11. The Hardest Part

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries_

**Chapter 11: The Hardest Part**

Jordyn awoke the next morning with a piercing headache and deep ache in her chest. She felt a mixture of frustration and anger. A fogginess clouded her mind like she'd woken up from a horrific dream. But the acrid taste of vomit in her mouth and painful stabbing in her chest reminded her that it hadn't been a nightmare at all.

The memories came back to her in brief flashes. Taking the pills from Daryl's bike, curling up on Marnie's bed, closing her eyes and begging to whoever would listen to just let her fall asleep so she wouldn't have to deal with all the death right that moment. Then the visions of Andrea and Daryl looming over her body, the feeling like she was being punched in the chest, throwing up repeatedly.

Andrea was asleep beside her and Daryl was guarding the door through to the garage. He was staring at her holding his crossbow across his lap.

"What time is it?" She asked, pushing herself awkwardly up against the wall.

"It's morning." Daryl grunted, stretching his neck. "We should leave."

Sighing, Jordyn took one of the water bottles by Andrea and unscrewed the cap. "Leave and go where?"

"You said you wanted to check the school for your sister." He replied with a shrug.

A flare of anger coursed through her veins almost making her choke on her water. "She's dead, Daryl." Jordyn said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Daryl gave her a knowing look. "That why you did it?" He asked a moment later. "That why you mad I saved you?"

"I didn't want to die." Jordyn snapped defensively. "I just wanted to sleep."

Daryl laughed. "Are you serious?" He clucked his tongue. "Just like Andrea, huh? Pissed I took your choice away?"

Jordyn scoffed. "You're an asshole." She glared at him.

"And you're a coward." He retorted.

"My mother lived and breathed for her children." Jordyn growled, rising shakily to her feet. "If she thought we were alive, even by the slimmest chance, she wouldn't have done that. She killed herself, they both did, because they _knew_ we were all dead."

"You're alive." Daryl pointed out. "So, they were wrong. "

Jordyn's eyes squinted shut in frustration, she had to take a few breaths before continuing. "Do you remember what I told you at the bar?" She asked through a tightly clenched jaw. "The bodies had been moved. Last night, I realized that it was my mother who must have moved them." Memories flashed back in her mind again, horrific visions of her mother coming across the bodies at the bar, wailing and consumed with sorrow. "They must have come back through town, saw my car and found Connor and a headless woman." She gave him a humourless smile. "They thought it was me. They thought we were all dead so they came back here and..." She trailed off gesturing to the graves outside the high garage window.

"What about Marnie?"

It was beginning to grate on her that he didn't seem to grasp her point. "If there was a chance she was alive, my mother wouldn't have done that to herself, do you understand that?"

In a blink, Daryl was on his feet, gripping his crossbow at his side. "No, what I understand is that you dragged us out here to find your sister-"

"I didn't ask you to come!"

"Horse shit; why else would you only tell me and Andrea that you were going?" He raised his eyebrows at her expectantly. "She lost her sister, I lost my brother?" He snorted. "I know your game. You wanted to find answers, but now you're getting your answers and it's too hard? Yeah; it sucks to lose your folks but they ain't the only reason you're out here. All you wanted to find was your sister, so what the hell gives you the right to just give up and stop looking?"

"She's dead-!"

"And if she is, that means you die, too? Your whole family that you care _so_ much about just gone?" He clicked his fingers. "And you're okay with that?"

Jordyn slowly shook her head. "Don't tell me how to feel right now."

"What did you want us to do with you?" He continued. "Leave your body here? Bury you outside with mom and dad? Take you back to camp?"

"I didn't want to die-"

"Shut up!" Andrea hissed in a harsh whisper, awakened in anger. "The both of you! Jesus, go scream out in the street right in front of the Walkers, make it even easier for them to find us!" She started to gather up the water and blankets. "Let's get back on the road and fight there, shall we?"

Without another word, the trio exited the garage. Jordyn did a lap of the house, trying to focus on the things she had managed to clean up rather than what she hadn't gotten around to. She wandered out the front porch and thought to bring in the newspaper and the mail; they belonged in the bowl by the front door.

With a seething Daryl keeping watch on the street to make sure the roaming Walkers up ahead stayed put, Andrea added more items to their growing inventory of supplies while Jordyn opened the back of the mail box. She was surprised to see it was stuffed with similarly looking sheets of paper.

Pulling out a stack of identical envelopes, Jordyn's breath caught in her throat when she read her own name on the bulk of the letters. Unravelling the top letter, she held her breath tight the whole time she read.

**ATTENTION: Miss Jordyn Emery **

Numerous letters to your address were left unanswered, we hope to find you here at the home of Michael and Olivia Rhodes. You are listed as Next of Kin for Marina Rhodes. This letter is to inform you that Marina was picked up at Atlanta East Primary on the day of the epidemic. Initially we attempted to contact your parents but have since become aware of their deaths. Marina will be kept in our care until such time as you are able to claim her.

Please present this or any other letter bearing these instructions to St. Grace's Memorial Hospital as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Captain. George Masters

NAS Atlanta

Exhaling with absolute shock, Jordyn's eyes drifted up to her family home. "They were here." She whispered under her breath. "They were here..."

"Jordyn?" Andrea called. "You ready?"

Turning to face her, Jordyn let the letter dangle in her fingertips. "They were here." She said louder.

"Who?" Andrea looked confused as she approached her.

"Marnie, the army, the police, someone was here." Thrusting the letter to Andrea, Jordyn tore through the rest of the envelopes finding the exact same message on each one, complete with a map to the hospital printed on the back.

"You think the mail was stilling being delivered?" Andrea looked sceptical.

"No, they were _here_." Jordyn said again. "They knew my parents were dead," She pointed to that line in the letter. "They sent people here..." A sudden thought entered her mind and she ran for the house. "They were here!"

"Jordyn!" Andrea groaned as she followed her into the house and up the staircase.

They wound up in Marnie's bedroom, Jordyn was pulling the cupboards open and searching. "Elroy..." She muttered as she searched through an old box of toys. He wouldn't be there, he would be close to Marnie. Turning to Andrea, she slapped her hands at her thighs. "Elroy's gone."

Andrea looked blank. "Who?"

"This stuffed bear Marnie has," Jordyn ripped the sheets off the bed looking for the camel coloured teddy, but all she found was the fluffy puppy she'd clung to the night before. "She takes him when she leaves the house, sometimes she forgets to bring him to my place when she stays, my mum has to drive it over."

"Maybe it was stolen like everything downstairs?" Andrea suggested as Daryl, looking bewildered, popped up behind her.

"No, no," Jordyn's brain whirled with renewed adrenaline as she checked Marnie's bookcase and dresser drawers. "No, the things that are gone aren't things people would steal. Her favourite pair of shoes, her _Finding Nemo_ backpack, _Goodnight Moon_..." Twirling around on the spot, Jordyn became aware of just how many specific items were missing from the room. "Marnie was here, they brought her back here and she took her favourite things with her."

"Jordyn that's a stretch-"

"Why?" Jordyn's heart was palpating again. "Jenner said that the military had evacuation plans, what if they loaded the kids up and took them home or something? A-And they let her up here to get her things?"

"So then you're folks OD'ed on Day One?" Daryl asked doubtfully. "Or they would have been here to get her, right?"

"No, I..." Perhaps it was lack of decent sleep and food or her irrational behaviour of the night before, but Jordyn couldn't calm herself. "Maybe they didn't bring them home right away, or they could have and no one was here? It's not a coincidence that things missing from her room are only things _she_ would take."

"So," Andrea shrugged her shoulders. "You want us to go to this hospital?"

"Yes!"

"And what if she's not there, you gonna try and kill yourself again?" Daryl snapped.

"Daryl-" Andrea started.

"No, we're out here risking our asses for her sister, what's the point if she's just gonna off herself?" With a sneer he turned and stormed from the room.

After he was gone, Andrea smiled nervously. "I hate to agree with him, but he has a point. We didn't find what you wanted to find _here_..."

"Andrea." Jordyn said, realizing her words had zero impact given what she'd done. "This whole time I've thought they must have done something wrong. The army. That they broke their rules, didn't follow protocol or whatever, like at the CDC where it all went to hell. But this?" She held up the stack letters. "This means they did. They did everything right. They came here looking for me over and over and over again. There are probably letters at my apartment and I didn't even think to check!" She found herself smiling. "This means that she _is_ alive. They wouldn't have kept sending them if she wasn't, right?"

Andrea looked unsure, but she lowered her head in a slight nod. "Jordyn, you can't do what you did again."

"I won't." Jordyn pouted.

Giving her a withering look, Andrea sighed. "What if we had a deal?" She offered with a glint in her eye. "We could make a twisted, little pact." She smirked. "Regardless of what we find out there, for you or for me, we don't kill ourselves. We get through each day, alive. No matter what." She extended her hand out to Jordyn. "Deal?"

It was only then Jordyn realized that for Andrea to suggest such a twisted and obliging offer would have to mean that she was constantly dealing with the possibility of ending it all herself. It hadn't gone away like she tried to make people think; she just hid it. It would be easier on her, and on Jordyn, if they had each other to keep them going. And it gave Jordyn confidence knowing that as long as she was around, Andrea would be, too. Reaching out, Jordyn gripped her hand and squeezed it tight. "Deal."

**xxx**

When Jordyn and Andrea had left the house Daryl was already livid behind the wheel of the car waiting. He hadn't spoken to either of them since they'd started driving, but it didn't bother Andrea sitting in the passenger's seat, who fell asleep with her head on Jordyn's shoulder. "How far away is this hospital?" She asked Daryl after they'd been on the road a half hour.

"Few hours." He grunted.

"I could drive?" She offered. He gave her a dirty look and didn't respond. His judgment was evident in every word he spoke and every look in his eyes.

Without the energy to argue again, Jordyn tried a new tactic if only to stop his pitiful expressions. "I know what you must think of me." She said. "And before all this happened, I'd agree with you. What I did was weak." She felt her cheeks flush. "Suicide is so weak... and still she did it. They both did." The image of her parents decaying remains hovered in her mind. "When I found them, all I could think was, 'What was she thinking? How could they do that?' "

Daryl was keeping his eyes on the road, but the tension in his arms as he gripped the wheel let Jordyn know he was listening.

"People who do that aren't thinking." Jordyn continued. "My mum wasn't thinking, they weren't _thinking_. They were broken... they were broken from grief."

"You think you're the only one to feel like that?" The longest sentence he'd uttered since they got on the road.

"No, but..." It struck Jordyn she'd never spoken to anyone, let alone Daryl, as much as she was doing right now. "I dunno maybe I was just being ignorant thinking I wouldn't actually lose them." Admitting that caused a tight lump to form in her throat. "I lost Connor in such a violent way I thought, for sure, life wouldn't be so evil as to take my mother from me." She shrugged. "And it didn't. She did it to herself." Exhaling loudly, Jordyn picked a spot to stare at on the horizon. "For what it's worth, you were right and I was wrong." She added.

"So..." Daryl sighed loudly, his arms relaxing slightly. "That mean you want to live now?"

Jordyn didn't respond right away. Instead, she thought. She thought about the feeling of release she'd felt when she'd finally fallen asleep after swallowing all those pills, the stinging pain she'd felt upon waking up, the hollow feeling in her chest that reminded her she was without her parents. And then that tiny, flash of hope in her heart. The one that had ignited when she'd read the letters from the mailbox, the one that burned brighter when she realized Marnie had taken her favourite book, favourite toy, favourite clothes; the one that had sparked back to life the same time she did.

"Yes." She answered. "And... I'm sorry. For stealing from you." A smiling vision of her mother came to her mind again. I never thought that's how I'd lose them. But," She frowned. "It's the end of the world. It changed them. It's changed me." She leant back in her seat and watched the clouds swim around in the sky. "I don't like it."

**xxx**


	12. Road Blocks

_AN: Special thanks as always to my beta gameovaries_

**Chapter 12: Road Blocks**

Atlanta East Primary School, where Marnie had been rehearsing her school play the day the infection broke out, was in complete ruins. Jordyn didn't want to look at it as Daryl drove past but she didn't have much of a choice considering it had been burnt to the ground and the debris had flooded across the road. If Jordyn didn't have the letter clasped in her hand that stated Marnie had been evacuated, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Trying to 'sleep' through it like she had when she'd discovered her parents didn't exactly help.

Normally three levels high with a bright playground out the front, the school was now completely levelled and the playground had melted into bulky, depressing lumps of plastic. There was nothing that let Jordyn know if it was the military or police who had set the fire for 'containment purposes,' or if it had just happened in the panic of the initial outbreak. Whatever the reason, there was no point in stopping at the skeleton of a school.

At an abandoned and Walker-corpse-ridden gas station, Daryl and Andrea switched seats. Jordyn was still in their bad books and not allowed to drive, but she was relieved that at least they were both speaking to her again.

The gas station itself had been looted and there was a rusty green pick-up truck smashed right through the window by the register. The only Walkers around were dead and rotting on the cement. Still, Jordyn worried one might be feigning unconsciousness to lure food to wander nearby.

All the fridges had been emptied and, with the power out, everything else being frozen had melted. Jordyn quietly stepped into the store to see what she could take. It was an odd feeling to have, or not have as it would be, not feeling guilty about stealing anymore. At first, she'd been nervous that she'd be caught even though she knew logically no one would prosecute her for it. Now, it was just part of her life. If something was useful; she took it. And sometimes she lucked out, like today when right in front of her was a shelf of candy bars. In the early days, she would have taken one or two and left the rest, but now she took the whole box without a second thought.

Back on the road with Andrea behind the wheel, Jordyn read her letters from Captain George Masters one by one, to make sure that they all said the same thing and none of them bore horrible news. They were all dated, and counting back she figured out that the last one had been sent to her parents home two weeks before. Fourteen days. Jordyn tried not to think about what she'd been doing back then before she'd gained the courage to search for her sister, because she had probably been doing something inane like washing up, or triple-checking her rifle's accuracy.

As much as Jordyn didn't want to look at the primary school, that feeling was intensified when they rolled up to St. Grace's Memorial Hospital that afternoon.

It was still standing, but that was the only good thing Jordyn could see. For a location that was supposed to be a safe camp for survivors, it was unnervingly silent. The parking lot was full of vehicles, all empty of living passengers. There were bodies lining the back wall of ambulance entrance. The ones covered in sheets or in body bags had clearly been the first to die, and as time went on and the sickness spread, whoever had the task of cleaning seemed to give up and just throw the bodies in a pile.

Andrea pulled the car to a stop at the curb. The trio just sat there staring at the building. "It looks..."

"Abandoned." Jordyn finished for her, feeling a pit of worry bubble in her stomach, but she pushed past it. "Let's go." Daryl exited the car first so she shuffled out the passenger's side.

Aside from not letting her drive, Andrea and Daryl had insisted Jordyn keep her rifle in the back of the truck. Far from enjoying the anxiety she felt not having her gun right at her fingertips, but the nervousness she felt sitting between Daryl and Andrea when they were both annoyed at her was much worse, so she said goodbye to her rifle for the trip.

Exiting the car Jordyn noticed that Andrea had her gun, and it was back in one piece. Jordyn didn't ask why because she assumed Daryl did it for her while she was out of it. It was a decision _he_ made, and Jordyn got the distinct impression he had done it in case she labelled it a stupid move because now he had her overdose to throw in her face if they were to argue again.

Happy to have her rifle in place slung over her shoulder, Jordyn lead the three of them towards the hospital. They avoided the pile of bodies by the ambulance bay and instead hugged the wall to find another way in. Out of habit, Jordyn closed off her nose and breathed through her mouth. Part of her hoped she would never get used to that smell of decay.

They had just rounded a sharp corner when they came face to face with a menacing man in camouflage fatigues aiming a violent utility rifle at Jordyn's forehead. "Freeze!"

Andrea shot up her hands and Jordyn dropped her rifle at her hip by its strap, but Daryl kept his crossbow aimed squarely at the soldier's head.

"Lower your weapon, son!" He ordered Daryl.

"You first, Chief." Daryl countered.

"Are you George Masters?" Jordyn asked to interrupt their mutual glares of testosterone.

The soldier scrutinized her over his gun. "You got one of those letters?" He asked, lowering his weapon .

"Yeah," Jordyn fumbled to get one of the envelopes from her pocket. "I'm here for my sister-"

"Get inside. Move!" The soldier kept his rifle pointed to the air but he quickly ushered the trio into the hospital through the side door. "Follow me." He instructed locking the door behind them and marching off down the hall.

"Look," Jordyn had to jog to keep up with him. "Please." From her back pocket she retrieved the family photo with her mother's final words scrawled on the back. "Here, this is her. Marnie. Have you seen her?"

The soldier didn't even look in her direction, let alone at the picture. "You have any idea how many kids we cleared out of this city?" He strode through a set of double doors.

They entered what would once have been a ward holding sick patients, but now it was just deserted. Beds and gurneys were flipped on their sides, sheets were bundled up in corners and the windows were heavily reinforced with wooden panels. There was an office at the back right of the room, which is where the soldier led Jordyn, Daryl and Andrea.

"Captain Patricks?" The younger of the two soldiers asked eyeing the trio as they walked in.

"Civilians." Patricks answered, slamming the door shut behind them. "Got one of those letters from Masters."

"Lieutenant Davies." The younger soldier introduced himself to them, namely Andrea. "This is Lieutenant Lehane." He nodded at the gum-chewing solider with a crew cut slouched on the window sill who gave them only the briefest of glances.

"You guys just sit here and wait around?" Daryl asked.

"It's the job." Lehane said crisply giving Daryl and icy stare. "Nice crossbow, man."

Flinching, Daryl gripped his weapon tighter at his side. "Helluva lot better than what you got; all the noise that piece of shit makes? Walkers'll be raining down on you in seconds."

"_Walkers_?" Lehane repeated with a smirk curling at his lips.

"It's what we call... them." Jordyn explained, thrown off by the way Lehane was leering at her.

"What happened here?" Andrea asked Captain Patricks.

"Our orders were to help set up a safe haven for evacuees." Patricks explained. "Hospital seemed as good a place as any to start an evac camp." He shrugged. "Course we didn't know that the infection could present hours after being bitten. It got in, so we had to clear out of here. Fast."

"So my sister's not here." Jordyn deduced.

"No one is." Patricks confirmed. "Except us. We have orders to come through here couple times a week in case people like you show up looking for family."

"So where is my sister now?"

"Could be at any one of our Stations." Patricks frowned. "We leave here at sundown; you can follow us to Alpha Station. Captain Masters wants to personally see every person he sent one of those letters."

"What do we do 'til then?" Daryl asked.

Lehane made a hell of a noise getting to his feet. "You can sit down." He snarled at Daryl. "Shut up. And not make trouble."

"Lieutenant." Patricks warned him. "Drop the attitude and scout the perimeter. Go!"

With a final dirty glare at Daryl, Lehane strode out of the office and through the ward. "What's up his ass?" Daryl muttered.

"Some people haven't quite adjusted like others." Davies spoke up.

"The infection," Andrea continued peppering Captain Patricks for information. "Have you found a cure or something?"

With a frown, Captain Patricks shook his head. "Last I heard they had the CDC working on it; but it wasn't going well."

"We went to the CDC in Atlanta." Jordyn informed him. "There's nothing there anymore."

Patricks nodded. "Yeah... like Davies said, some people just didn't adjust. Goes for the military, too. We've never seen anything like this before."

"So there isn't a vaccine?" Andrea pushed. "You don't know where it came from?"

"Ma'am, I am a Captain, but my expertise is in combat lifesaving, reconnaissance and civilian safety." Patricks stated with passive valour. "It's my job to get people away from this shit; not to stay and mess with it."

"How many people came here on Day One?" Jordyn asked out of curiosity.

"Not sure." Patricks said. "I wasn't here, I was stationed out at Alpha. When things went bad, they started sending me out on these runs. At first we found a lot of people." He gave the three of them a wistful look. "But you lot are the first ones we've seen here in almost two weeks." This fact seemed to both make him smile and look uncertain at the same time.

"Are you hungry?" Davies asked a moment later, pulling two granola bars from his pocket.

Andrea eagerly took one from him, but Daryl shook his head and Jordyn declined. She'd scarfed two chocolate bars back at the gas station on an empty stomach that had previously been loaded with narcotics; she didn't feel too good.

It was a strange couple of hours while the trio waited. Captain Patricks had decided that they needed constant supervision, so they were never left alone. It made Jordyn uncomfortable, mostly when Lehane was watching them. He just stared Daryl down and chewed his gum slowly like a grazing cow. No words were shared between them; but the tension was palpable.

As the sky turned a brilliant orange colour, Captain Patricks announced they were to leave. The group all readied their weapons and made their way out of the hospital. They exited out of a different way than they had come in, Jordyn noted it was another, smaller ambulance bay but, unlike the one out front, this one was free of bodies.

There was a large bulletin board that had likely once been in an office but now stood up on one of the pillars by the Ambulance Entry sign. As they passed it, Jordyn saw Davies approach it and take out a marker. It was then she noticed the dates printed in black ink. The military were keeping track of the times and days they had been there and when they would be there next for any civilians that came by.

Jordyn, Andrea and Daryl piled into the aggressive army truck and they dropped them off safely back at their vehicle. None of the soldiers offered one of them a seat, and they didn't ask. There was an odd apprehension between them, but Jordyn had come to expect that with every human that she ran into these days. If they weren't a Walker, she wasn't sure what to do with them. It seemed as though other people felt the same way.

With Daryl driving again, they tailed their new friends while the sun set peacefully behind them. As they drove Jordyn noted Daryl yawning and Andrea having a hard time keeping her eyes open. At first she almost called them on it, lightweights who couldn't stay up late, but then it hit her that they were so tired because they'd spent the entire night with her worrying that she would die. Feeling embarrassed for almost making a stupid joke, Jordyn just kept quiet and settled in for the ride.

* * *

><p>Alpha Station reminded Jordyn of a boarding school.<p>

It was possible it had been an empty building before the military had moved in, or in such an irreparable way that they had come in and stamped their own mark on everything. Red-brick walls fenced it off from the road, high enough to keep Walkers out. But even if they got through, they wouldn't get far. Plenty of armed guards in complete uniform circulated around the perimeter.

Jordyn craned her neck to stare out the driver's side window as they followed Captain Patricks into a warehouse up to the left. The four guards stationed out the front moved aside to let them through. It was somewhat of a storage facility for cars, and Jordyn noted that while not all of them were military issue, they were all in very good condition. She wondered if, like she herself had done, the army boys had searched for cars in good condition and then brought them back to their Station.

Lieutenant Davies climbed out of the truck in front and directed Daryl to park behind a navy blue VW van. "Leave your weapons and follow me." Lieutenant Davies instructed.

Jordyn, Andrea and Daryl each grabbed a few things from the back of the truck and followed the soldier through a back door of the warehouse that lead would have lead them outside had it not been enclosed as a sealed tunnel. The only light was from Davies' flashlight and the faint glow of the moon through the thick plastic walls.

Another door greeted them at the end of the tunnel which lead them through to a room that reminded Jordyn of the viewing room at the CDC but without all the monitors. Maps of various local cities and nearby states of Atlanta lined the walls and a dozen or so uniformed soldiers gave their new arrivals curious glances as they walked through towards an office situated in the back corner

"Captain Masters, Sir?" Davies addressed the well-built man in his forties who was staring intently at a street map on his wall covered in red pins. "This woman has one of your placement letters."

"Right." The Captain offered Jordyn polite smile and a handshake. "Congratulations on making it here." He said as he shook Daryl and Andrea's hands. "After days go by without anyone showing up sometimes I wonder why we keep doing it, but people like you keep trickling in."

Not sure how to respond to him, Jordyn handed over her letter along with the photo. "I'm here for my sister." She pointed out Marnie. "Is she here?"

"I wouldn't know her face, sorry." Captain Masters said, directing her by the shoulder into the smaller office beside his own. "Lieutenant Foley?" He said to the soldier at the computer.

Foley was a harshly beautiful woman who had her black hair tied in a tight bun. Her face was scrunched in tight in concentration, an expression that didn't change when she looked up to her Captain.

"This is Miss..." Captain Masters checked the name on the letter. "Miss Emery. Locate her sister, please?" The phone back in his office starting to ring impatiently. "Excuse me."

"What is her name?" Foley asked.

With shaking hands, Jordyn handed her the letter. The disbelief she felt caused her heartbeat to speed up. "Marnie - Marina. Marina Rhodes. It might be Emery-Rhodes. She's six." If it was this easy, Jordyn felt like slapping herself. This time the day before she had been ready to end her life.

Clucking her tongue, Foley ran her fingers across the keyboard. "Marina Rhodes... transferred to Echo Station two weeks ago." She said efficiently, pressing a wet stamp on the letter and signing just above it. "Have Captain Masters sign this."

Sure she felt her heart stop, Jordyn's breathing started to come in quick gasps. "She's alive?" She muttered, turning towards the wall to hide her shock. Until then she hadn't realized just how terrified she'd been that she'd find no trace of Marnie. And now she not only had a confirmation, she had a location.

"Transferred?" Daryl asked. "Why isn't she here?"

With Jordyn distracted, Foley passed the placement letter to Andrea. "Ran out of room, maybe she was sick, we had a flu go through here. Could be a number of reasons." Already on her feet, she signalled to her Captain. "Sir, I have fifteen new evacuees to observe-"

"Yes, fine, go," Captain Masters dismissed her, ushering Jordyn, Andrea and Daryl back into his office. "Echo Station, she said?" He scratched the back of his head. "Should be Captain Nolan in charge there."

"Okay, so where is it?" Andrea asked as she pulled Jordyn along by the hem of her shirt.

"About half a day's drive, I can get a map for you." Captain Masters replied returning to his desk and rifling through the drawers. "You'll stay here tonight, head out tomorrow morning."

"No, no," Jordyn found her voice. "We're going now. We have to go now."

"No, it's much better if you show up to the Stations during the day." Captain Masters gave her a stern look. "At night the soldiers are much more on edge."

"What the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked.

Handing the map to Jordyn, Captain Masters turned. "This kind of disaster changes people. What some of these men have seen?" He shook his head. "Can't be unseen, you know?" He rubbed his stubbled chin. "I had a kid stationed at a camp about a month ago out West. The guy there in charge had... lost it. Everyone who came in for help; he shoved in a basement. Ruled with an iron fist." His face darkened. "When he started shooting people in sight... the kid snuck out; made his way here." A brief smile crossed his lips. "It's better here."

From his office he directed them through the halls. "We've got enough supplies, food, medicine, beds, for about two hundred people to last six months, a year if we're really, really careful." He explained. "Day One, we had over three thousand people show up here. Half the evacuation camps didn't even have a chance to open before they were overrun by the Undead." He guided them down a quiet hallway. "We took as many as we could until we got word that other places were up and running, then we started sending groups of fifty or so at a time."

"How many Stations are there?"

"That's where it gets tricky." Captain Masters said with a wry curl of his lip. "You have to understand that even with the precautions we have in place, we had no idea of the magnitude of the epidemic. This is worldwide. I only know what's going on in Atlanta. And our protocol lists four evacuation camps to be set up across the state."

"Four?" Andrea repeated incredulously. "That's it?"

"We weren't prepared." Captain Masters admitted. "And we thought we were, which only made things worse. We tried to keep it organized but the longer this goes on the harder it is to keep track." He continued. "People aren't allowed to come and go as they please, but we're not forcing anyone to stay against their will."

"You said it's tricky? How?"

"Like I said, only four stations were initially set up. But when we realized how bad things were we got orders to sanction more. The problem with that is that they had no organization, no proper screening, limited supplies, subpar living arrangements," His expression became torn. "All issues that could be resolved with time, manpower and equipment, which we soon discovered we didn't have. These newer stations aren't up to code and there's just no one around to make sure that they are."

"And you sent my sister to one of these low quality stations?"

"It must sound awful, I realize that." Captain Masters admitted. "The children who weren't claimed within the first month, whose parents didn't return their letters or show up with family photos, we sent them off. The idea was to keep all the orphaned children in one place so if someone came looking for them they wouldn't be traipsing through Station after Station."

"And this Echo Station," Daryl cut in. "That's the orphanage?"

Captain Masters exhaled loudly as he came to a stop out the front of an unassuming door. "Things are much worse than we anticipated. Delta Station was overrun by the infected, we lost everyone there. Word got out that the camps weren't safe, so we had a lot of people leave only to come back with bites or dead bodies." He kept his face hard and unemotional. "So we had to forgo our original plans; people wanted to be sent somewhere off the map."

"Echo Station." Andrea guessed.

"Yes." He paused. "But being off the map doesn't make it a safe place to be." Turning abruptly, he opened the door he'd been gripping the handle of so tightly as he spoke. "This is where you'll be staying." He announced.

The room was sparse, but safe. They walked into the kitchenette which was just two benches, a stove, a sink, and a kettle and coffee machine sitting atop a small, white mini-fridge. There were no windows, just an air vent humming in the ceiling. A bunk bed was situated by the back wall with a rollaway bed parallel to it.

"Bathrooms are at the end of the hall." Captain Masters said, grabbing and signing Jordyn's placement letter before handing it back to her. "You need food?"

"No, we've got some." Andrea said, dropping her backpack on one of the benches.

"Ok, well, have a good night." He started to leave. "Oh, and when you get to Echo Station tomorrow... be careful. Answer their questions immediately. Don't go in their armed. Mention my name, give them this," He handed a folded piece of paper to Jordyn, her original letter with his signature scrawled on it. "But listen," He clasped his hand on her shoulder. "Be direct, say what you're there for, and get the hell out of there when you have your sister, okay?"

"Or what?" Daryl asked, sidling up beside Jordyn.

"Like I said," The Captain smiled. "It's better here. We can't control all the Stations." His smile vanished. "Not anymore."

* * *

><p>Echo Station was a mess.<p>

Twice Jordyn was sure they were in the wrong place. The Station was located in the middle of nowhere. An exit off the highway lead them to a Walker-filled small town of Monroe that Daryl sped through ignoring the grunts and groans of the undead. Down two roads that didn't look like roads at all, they then had to cross a field until they wound up on a gravel stretch that kicked up a hell of a dust storm behind them as they drove through. It was on this road that they saw the first sign for Echo Station painted on a dingy sandwich board and hanging off a fence post.

At first Jordyn thought that the building in front of her was just another destroyed landmark, but the numerous signs and words Echo Station painted on seemingly every available service told her that they had arrived at their destination.

While Alpha Station reminded Jordyn of a preppy boarding school, Echo Station looked no better than a decrepit little prison. Daryl pulled the truck to a stop a hundred feet for so from the entrance to this Station. Jordyn didn't question him; she needed the extra seconds to take it all in. Captain Masters hadn't been kidding when he said things were better at Alpha Station. This place was a wreck. The scene before them reminded Jordyn of a junkyard, but for people instead of cars.

Decomposing bodies were scattered everywhere, so much so that Jordyn couldn't see the ground beneath them. Many of them were crumpled, bent on strange angles with bullet holes having blown off most of their heads. Very few were covered. As Jordyn looked closer she saw that a very basic, very flimsy fence of wire was keeping the bodies off the path leading up towards the Station.

Shifting the car back into gear, Daryl slowly rolled them forwards up the roadway. Jordyn tried not to look at the bodies, but they were everywhere. Men, women, children, it didn't matter. All infected, all dead, all tossed aside. Up ahead she saw a high chain-link fence around some sort of overgrown garden, but there were no people in it. And up against the outside of the fence was a teetering pile of bodies, Jordyn got the distinct impression they were just heaving them over the fence when the infection set in.

Jordyn gagged at the intensity of the smell, she felt like she was breathing the foul stench of death straight into her lungs, even burning in her eyes. The look on Andrea's face was the same. And though normally unreadable, even Daryl looked grossed out.

A short soldier wearing army fatigue pants and a white wife-beater stepped out of a rundown little tollbooth to greet them with his shotgun resting on his right shoulder and half a cigarette dangling from his chapped lips. "Exit your vehicle!" He ordered. "Hands where I can see 'em! Any of you bit?"

"No, none of us." Andrea answered as they quickly filed from the car.

"We got no room for newbies. We got no supplies to share. We can't help." He snarled. "So why don't you just head back out?"

"I-I'm here for my sis-sister." Jordyn stammered. "I have a letter."

Narrowing his eyes at her, the soldier edged forwards. "Give it." He snapped.

With shaking hands, Jordyn removed the letter from her back pocket and handed it over. He seemed to re-read it a few times before he chose to believe them. "You go in slow, you hear me?" He said in a low growl. "Don't run, don't make a fuss, just walk straight in, do we understand each other?"

Only able to nod, Jordyn felt adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she lead her friends through the iron gate beside the tollbooth. Feeling so pent up, she just wanted to sprint but the knowledge of the unruly soldier and his shotgun kept her in line.

The gate wasn't locked. It lead them through to the garden Jordyn had seen on their drive in and straight towards a building the size of a two car garage. The smell was significantly weaker once they entered. It was replaced by an acrid scent of body odour but that was still preferable to being outside, in Jordyn's mind.

Four soldiers armed with guns sat lounging on sofas pushed up against the back wall. There were two doors to the right of them and two to the left. One door lead to an office whose windows looked out to the guards. The three men inside the office turned abruptly to face the trio that had just walked in.

Two of the lounging guards strode towards Jordyn and she could see firsthand what Captain Masters had meant. These men were not doing so well. Their faces were drawn in exhaustion with dark bags under their eyes. Captain Masters had been well dressed, his uniform rumpled but still intact. These soldiers had long since ditched their fatigues.

Both still wore the camouflage pants, but that was it for the military clothing. The shorter of the two wore a grey t-shirt with fraying holes and oil stains. The man who stood beside him was shirtless, and flexed his heavily tattooed arms while tightening his grip on his gun. He was over six feet tall and sneered down at the new arrivals. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Jordyn Emery." She handed over her letter and mentioned her sister once again. A balding man wearing a lab coat with a red cross stitched to his breast pocket exited the office and joined the intimidating soldiers. Each medic held a remote-like device that reminded Jordyn of the ear thermometer her mother had used when Connor and Marnie were babies.

"What the hell?" Daryl snapped as the medic attempted to push the device into his ear.

"Sir; if you resist you will not be granted entry, do you understand?" The medic said firmly. "It's just a thermometer. Fever's one of the first signs." He pushed the device back into Daryl's ear. "You're fine." He declared a moment later.

"I coulda told you that." Daryl sneered as Andrea was also cleared to pass beside him.

Jordyn waited patiently as the gruff medic pushed the fancy thermometer into her eardrum. It made a strange beeping noise that caught everyone off guard. "104." The medic announced, shoving Jordyn back into the arms of a heavy-set man in faded, ill-fitting fatigues.

"Wait!" Jordyn flinched and struggled against the sea of arms that attempted to restrain her. "Wait, no-!"

"Hey, no, she's fine!" Andrea hollered, but she was being held back by the medic.

"I'm not infected!" Jordyn cried.

"Hey!" Daryl was pushing his way through the crowd towards her. "No, no, she didn't get bit!" He thrust his hand through the sea of off-colour fatigues to reach for her.

"Wait!" Jordyn grabbed for his hand but they were easily pulled apart by the soldiers who had her in their grip.

"Let her go!" Daryl growled as the doctor held him back. "She's not infected!"

"If she was infected, we'd all be!" Andrea tried to reason with them.

"Get her into quarantine," The heavy-set woman ordered as Daryl was shoved back. "Now."

Two men grabbed Jordyn under her shoulders and forcibly carried her through one of the doors to the right. What had seemed like an unassuming exit turned out to be the door to a never-ending descending staircase. With the door locked behind her, Jordyn's protests became nothing but echoes as she was dragged deeper and deeper underground.

**xxx**


	13. Caged

**Chapter 13: Caged**

Three soldiers tugged on Jordyn's arms, keeping her in constant motion. Being at least a head shorter than all of them, she couldn't keep up and kept tripping over her own feet. After counting a hundred stairs and falling to her knees for the second time, Jordyn stopped keeping track and hung as deadweight in the soldiers arms.

They pretended like they didn't hear her protests; Jordyn couldn't tell if it was just a soldier thing or if they were being deliberately callous. An infected person would surely still protest their sickness and claim to be in good health. Jordyn wondered how many people they'd dragged down these stairs who had then succumbed to the infection. If she was in their position, she wondered if she, too, would become deaf to the cries.

Finally Jordyn felt herself being pulled forwards as opposed to downstairs. The soldier who had been prodding her in the back to keep her moving disappeared down a hallway towards suspicious sounding growls while the two others kept leading Jordyn along. Lead through tunnel after tunnel of dull cement walls, they passed rooms of people wailing and the all too familiar groan of Walkers.

A thin, pale woman with greying hair and wearing a long white lab-coat greeted Jordyn as she was held to a stop out the front of a room that smelled of bleach and disinfectant. "I'm not sick." Jordyn attempted to convince the female medic who roughly grabbed her arm and secured a rubber tie around her bicep. "I'm not, I've just had a fever, it's not the infection." The medic pretended not to hear her and wiped the inner of her elbow with an alcoholic swab. "I took too many pills a couple of nights ago and I'm still getting over it." Jordyn kept trying, gritting her teeth as the medic thrust a needle into her arm. "I'm not infected."

"We'll see." The medic finally answered as she filled her syringe with blood. "Longest gestation for the virus in our experience has been twelve hours." Capping off the needle, she tugged the rubber tie undone and retreated into her antiseptic smelling lab. "You still here by then we'll start to believe you."

"Wait-!" Jordyn tried to root her feet to the spot but the two soldiers simply plucked her up off the ground and took her down the hall to yet another set of stairs.

"Calm down, sweetheart." The sandy-haired soldier told her. "Don't make it harder."

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Jordyn asked, struggling against the fingers gripped like vices around her arms and shoulders.

"Just do as your told and you'll be fine." He replied as his comrade pushed them through a doorway into a room full of holding cells.

A hungry growl of a Walker trying desperately to reach the soldiers with swipes of her grey skinned arm flung herself at them as soon as they came in.

"Told you she was done for within the hour." The sandy-haired soldier said to his friend. "You owe me."

"Yeah, yeah." His partner grumbled dejectedly, pulling his pistol from his hip holster and firing a shot directly into the Walker's skull.

Jordyn was frozen, for the first time glad she was being held up because otherwise she may have fallen over. The room had ten cells, seven were empty, two were occupied by frightened looking women, and one that housed the crumpled remains of the hungry Walker.

A million horrific thoughts crossed Jordyn's mind as to why they were keeping women locked up, but she barely got a word of protest out before she was shoved and locked into her own cell just one down from the freshly killed Walker. Watching in disbelief, Jordyn gaped at the two soldiers as they unlocked the cell and removed the still oozing body.

"Shit, shit, shit," Jordyn said in a panic, retreating to a corner of her cell and crouching down.

"Would you shut up?" One of the jailed women snapped at Jordyn, the black haired, sturdy, athletic girl who was her immediate neighbour. "They'll come back. Believe me, it's better if they leave us alone."

Gripping one of the bars of her cell, Jordyn hugged her knees to her chest and eyed her fellow prisoner. "How long have you been here?"

"A week." She replied, dangling her hands lazily through the bars between them.

"But that medic said after twelve hours-"

"Yeah, they'll believe that you're not sick." She cut in. "Not that they'll let you go."

"Shit." Jordyn felt her stomach drop. Even if she could manage to get out of her cell, there was no way she'd get up those stairs without being seen. Her plans of escape were thinning.

"So what's your name?"

"Jordyn."

"I'm Nat." She flicked her raven hair from her eyes. "What brings you to our little hell-hole?" Nat asked. "Looking for safety? That was my big mistake."

"No, my baby sister's here." Jordyn replied. "At least the last Station I went to said she was here, but I didn't get through the door before they were saying I was infected."

"They don't bother testing twice." Nat replied. "With the fever tester thingy. Mine was wrong, I didn't have a temp at all, but that didn't stop them stuffing me down here."

"Why?"

Nat shrugged. "Nowhere else to put me? The keep retesting my blood." She pushed away from the bars and traced her fingers across them. "I showed up here with my whole family. Ten people in all. They were all infected." Clinging to the bars, she let herself fall back and swing. "Guess they're just waiting for me to turn. That girl they shot? That was Cora. She barely had a scratch; but it was enough." Nat explained. "She'd only been here a few hours." Glancing at Jordyn with intrigue, Nat smirked. "Are you bitten?"

"No." Jordyn replied flatly, sensing a strangeness about Nat's abrupt personality that made her uncomfortable. "I had a cold, so I had a fever."

"Lucky." Nat said. "They might let you go. Did you come here by yourself?"

"No, I came here with friends." Jordyn replied, rubbing her temples at an impending migraine.

"Maybe they'll come and save you." Nat said, then she let her head roll back and laughed.

"Ignore her." A soft voice came from the cell adjacent to Jordyn's. "I think she was nuts before she came here."

"Screw you, Remy." Nat snorted, turning all her attention to braiding her own hair.

"How long have you been here?" Jordyn asked Remy.

"A day." Remy couldn't have been older than thirty, had dead straight auburn hair and sharp, angled features. Her eyes were bright green and deeply set. "So, you're looking for your sister you said?"

"Marnie. She's six." Jordyn sighed, suddenly thinking of the photo with her mother's suicide note written on the back. She'd had it in her pocket when they tested her temperature, but as Jordyn felt her jeans she knew she didn't have it anymore. "You wouldn't know where she might be in this place, would you?"

In response, Remy stood to her feet and faced Jordyn. Her dark camouflage pants unruffled and a set of dog tags hanging from her neck clanged against the metal bars of her cell. Stitched over the breast of her gray t-shirt was a now familiar military red cross.

"You're a medic." Jordyn realized.

"Yeah." Remy nodded. "We had a bad run yesterday. Ten people came in, all with bites and they all turned before we could contain them." She leant her forehead against the bars. "It was a bloodbath."

"You got bitten?"

"No, but I was covered in their blood." Remy grimaced. "I mean _covered_. I thought it might have gotten into my system somehow so I had them stash me here just in case."

"You're down here voluntarily?"

"Well, it's a rule I enforce with everyone else so I may as well set an example." Craning her neck she looked at the clock ticking on the back wall. "I've got until five, then I've been here for twenty-four hours. People who last twenty-four hours after suspected infection have all been cleared, I promise that's as long as you'll be here."

Jordyn's mind was elsewhere. "My friends, will they be okay?"

"Did they have a fever?"

"No, they were both fine."

"Then, unless they caused some trouble, they would have been sent on their way." Remy assured her.

The knot in Jordyn's stomach released a little. Andrea would be smart enough to keep her head, and hopefully stern enough to reel Daryl in if he got too hot-headed. All she needed was to get out of this cell and she could search this hellhole for Marnie. "So what is this place?" She asked Remy a moment later. "The other Station we went to wasn't like this."

"Too many guys, too many guns, too much power." Remy said with a limp shrug of her lithe shoulder. "The guy in charge, Captain Nolan? He got infected. And since he died his troops have decided to make this their own little death zone." She rolled her emerald eyes. "Most of the time things are okay. Tough but okay. But since we've been getting more dead and infected than live visitors..." She trailed off and held her lips in a tight smile.

"Great." Jordyn rested her head back against the cool, concrete wall and closed her eyes, tuning out Nat humming to herself. "I was told at Alpha Station that this was for the orphaned children?"

"It was." Remy said. "But when you get people of all ages showing up with broken bones, going through cancer treatments, having asthma attacks or breathing difficulties it's hard to turn them away." Her jaw twitched. "And look... I hate to break it to you but most of the kids are gone."

The knot returned to Jordyn's stomach. "What?"

"A week ago, around the same time Nat came in, we realized we had more sick people than healthy ones," Remy explained. "So we separated them into groups, gave them some supplies and set them off."

"Set them off?" Jordyn repeated. "Off where? Another Station?"

"No," Remy said quietly. "No, we're advising them to stay away from the Stations. They, ah... they aren't working like they're supposed to."

"Great." Jordyn felt like repeatedly slamming her head back against the concrete wall of her cell. "Are you _sure_ she's not here?"

"Diane would know for sure." Remy said. "Another medic. She gave all of them a final check before sending them off; no point in sending sick people out there. She's holding down the fort on her own while I'm in here."

Five o'clock soon came, and one soldier returned, the sandy-haired man who had lead Jordyn into her cell. "Time's up, Steele." He said with a smirk as he headed to Remy's cage.

"On time, I like that." Remy returned his smile.

The reference of her name wasn't lost on Jordyn. "Your name is Remy Steele?"

"No, Laura. Laura Steele." She said quickly, stretching out her arms and shaking her rolling back and forth. "Remington Steele... Remy... someone made the connection on day one of my training and it's just stuck."

"You been making friends, Steele?"

In reply, Remy just nudged the soldier forwards by her shoulder. "I'll come back and check on you when your incubation time's up." She said to Jordyn. Pointing a finger at Nat - who had started counting under her breath - she then whispered. "Best to ignore her. She's harmless, but if you get her riled up you'll never get any sleep."

A futile attempt to let her out early fell on deaf ears, so Jordyn took Remy's advice and decided to at least feign sleep. The cells had wooden ledges with thin blankets on them for beds, Jordyn balled up her blanket and rested it under her head as she lied out flat on her ledge listening to the softening sound of Nat's counting.

There was a tiny bruise forming on Jordyn's inner elbow where her blood had been taken, and a small dried dot of blood. Resisting the urge to pick at the scab, she covered her face with her hands to block out the flickering light. At two-thousand-and-fifty-one, Nat's counting ceased completely, and Jordyn's eyelids were heavy. It was the first time in awhile that she could remember falling asleep so easily. In that way, she was kind of happy she was in the cell.

In the midst of a dream where she was running from a never-ending stream of Walkers, Jordyn found herself back in her parent's bedroom. Her mother was there standing beside the bed with a tired smile on her face. "_We love you so much. Don't judge us."_ She kept repeating, even when Jordyn tried to engage her in some sort of conversation.

A shrill scraping noise of metal on metal woke Jordyn with a start. Remy was standing over her holding out a granola bar. "You're fine." She declared. "Time to leave."

Head still foggy, Jordyn took the food and followed Remy from her cell. Nat was asleep in a ball on her bed, she looked peaceful. Chewing on the granola, Jordyn found herself waking up with each step as she followed Remy up almost half the stairs she'd been dragged down just one day before.

Something familiar caught Jordyn's eye as they cut across a set of small offices all filled with supplies of some sort. Weapons, canned food, water, blankets and sheets, but the room that grabbed Jordyn's attention was full of random riff-raff, odd things that just didn't seem to belong anywhere else. On the table right by the door was an unmistakable weapon.

"Wait, wait." If Jordyn knew one thing about Daryl, it was his love of his crossbow. "This belongs to my friend." Carefully she picked it up. In her mind, crossbows were like bombs, always set to go off. Aiming it to the ground, she kept it clear from her body in case it should do just that.

With narrow eyes, Remy scanned the weapon. "It's definitely not one of ours..." She inspected it more closely in Jordyn's hand. "Our guys must have taken it off him."

Jordyn felt her eyelids droop, the most obvious reason she could think of for why they would remove him of his crossbow is if he threatened them with it. "What would they do to him?"

"Lock him up, beat him up." Remy answered abruptly. "Whatever it takes to shut him up."

"Where is he?"

"I'll look into it," Remy assured her. "But if you wanna talk to Diane we gotta go now, she doesn't have a lot of free time." Swinging hard to the left, Remy lead them through a set of double doors into the biggest convergence of survivors Jordyn had seen since Day One.

The room was the size of a high school gymnasium, but not a trace of the floor could be seen. Hospital gurneys, sleeping bags, rollway beds, and even tables with pillows and blankets on them housed injured, moaning people of all ages. Jordyn assumed none of them were infected with the Walker virus otherwise they would have been treated to the same hospitality as she had been down in the cell room. Instead there were broken legs, gaping wounds from car accidents or an awkward fall, it was like a hospital triage centre set up in the middle of a warzone. Which, Jordyn realized immediately, is exactly what it was.

Scanning the crowd, Jordyn searched the sea of strangers for Marnie. The noise of pained moans and medics yelling instructions muffled Jordyn's cries of her sister's name, so she started wading through them. Captain Masters words came back to her, this was supposed to be the Station for orphaned children. As she looked around Jordyn saw that it clearly had become much more than that. A part of her heart felt guilty for thinking such awful thoughts about the soldiers who were obviously struggling with a much worse situation than any of them were prepared to handle.

"Marnie..." Jordyn said to no one, letting the hordes of people shove and jostle passed her.

"Jordyn," Remy tugged her arm and pulled her over to a frizzy auburn-haired woman listening to the heartbeat of an elderly patient. "This is Diane. Diane, Jordyn's looking for her sister Marnie? I'm sure she was one of the kids we sent out with the convoys."

"Marnie?" Diane let her stethoscope hang from her neck and moved to her next patient, a heavily pregnant young woman protectively cradling her belly. "Ah... about ten years old? Red hair?"

"No, no," Jordyn said, that desperate ball of anxiety creeping back into her chest. "She's six, about that high," She held her hand up to her hip bone and rambled on. "Blondish hair at her chin, but it would be longer now... very sweet." Her mind thought back to the things missing from Marnie's bedroom. "She might have had a _Finding Nemo_ backpack?"

"Oh..." Diane squinted her eyes in deep thought. "Yes." She said uncertainly. "Yeah, I think so."

Her voice didn't inspire Jordyn with confidence. "You _think_ so?"

"The kids that young, as long as they were healthy we sent them off." Diane explained. "And I know we haven't had any girls that young die in almost a month."

"Was she with A Group or B Group?" Remy asked.

"Ah," Diane clucked her tongue. "B Group. Yeah, Lenny and her crew took the youngest kids out East."

"We haven't heard of too much damage out East." Remy informed Jordyn. "Well, not as bad as everywhere else. Of course that could be because there's nothing there, we just don't have the resources to check it out."

"And you still sent kids there?" Jordyn couldn't help the accusation in her voice. "With no idea of what it was like?"

"_Sent_ is hardly the word." Diane said crisply. "Many of them begged us to leave. And we have more than the Undead infection to worry about here. We've had three gastro-intestinal viruses go through the camp, a flu that killed half our elderly patients and I'm almost positive I had a case of chicken pox this morning."

"I know the path they took." Remy spoke up. "B Group. I helped map it out. I can drive you."

"And leave me here?" Diane suddenly looked even more exhausted. "I have a bunch of newbie medics, I need your help."

"I'll be back before nightfall." Remy told her. "You know how fast I drive."

"If you have a map, we can follow it." Jordyn said as Remy lead her away from Diane who was already busying herself with the wrist of a second patient who sat beside the pregnant girl.

"Do you have any idea how many families have been messed up here?" Remy said as she pulled Jordyn through the choking mass of survivors. "Nat is not a unique case. We're locking her up because we don't want her to kill herself like most of the others who lost everyone did. I want to keep families together. And I can help you, so I'm going to."

Jordyn didn't plan on questioning her, it would not hurt to have a doctor amongst them even if it was just for a few hours. "That pregnant girl...?" Jordyn nodded back to Diane and her patient.

"She's high-risk, diabetic and she's carrying twins." Remy replied. "We gotta keep them in there as long as we can, that means she can't be moved. Otherwise, yes, we would have sent her off with the kids."

"I need to get my friends." Jordyn persisted as they broke through the crowd and back into the empty hall. "We have a car. We can follow you."

Nodding in agreement, Remy strode through the halls and up a flight of stairs before she came to a stop in front of a room that reminded Jordyn of the one she'd been held in all night, only without the cages. Instead it just had those ledge-beds scattered across the walls.

"Bob." Remy dipped her head to the disgruntled soldier behind the desk as they walked in. "Here for a prisoner."

"Who?" He grunted.

"Daryl Dixon." Jordyn replied to Bob's unchanged expression. He was relatively unassuming to look at, just a sweet-faced old man reading a newspaper, but the wall of rifles behind him gave him a much darker vibe. "He's 'bout my age but taller than me, sort of harsh looking and speaking," She rambled. "Blue eyes, I think...?"

"The pissed off redneck." A voice offered from behind them.

A relieved smile spread across Jordyn's face when she spotted a tired but otherwise intact Andrea in the doorway. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Andrea replied giving her a gentle hug. "You're the one they locked up. You okay?"

"They just stuck me in a cage." Jordyn replied with a nod.

Tilting her head at Jordyn, Andrea didn't question her further. "But you believe us now?" She asked the soldiers. "That she's not infected?"

"I checked with the medic who took her blood before I got her out; she's fine." Remy confirmed.

"Go ahead." Bob grunted again, going back to his newspaper.

Leading the way, Remy pushed through a swinging door and came face to face with another soldier, the sandy-haired young man who had dragged Jordyn into her cage. "Reiden." Remy greeted him.

"Steele." He winked back.

"The redneck."

"What did you call me?" A voice spat.

"Yeah, that's him." Jordyn stepped out from behind Remy to see Daryl with his hands behind his back sitting awkwardly on one of the ledges. "Can we have him back?"

The sandy-blonde shared a look with Remy, who nodded, and then got too slowly to his feet making it absolutely no rush to un-cuff Daryl.

While he was being freed, Jordyn got a good look at Daryl's injuries. Blood smeared his forehead, one eye had heavy bruising underneath and he walked forwards tentatively on his left leg. Jordyn almost expected more injuries considering they would have had to pry his crossbow from his hands, but she didn't rub it in. They had somewhere to be.

Remy lead the frazzled trio outside, thankfully a different place than out the front. The stench of death and Walkers was in the air but it didn't invade every sense like it had when they arrived out the front. "I'll get my bike and meet you at your car." She said backing towards the garage to their left.

Andrea climbed into the front seat, checking the engine still turned over and the car hadn't been tampered with, so Jordyn made Daryl lean against the back of the truck to treat his wound. She located the First Aid Kit amongst all their supplies and grabbed one of the bottles of water they'd taken from Ted's Bar. Daryl flinched, swore and all round made it difficult for Jordyn to clean up his cut. The blood had flattened his hair to his scalp and the wound was still bleeding a little. Jordyn used a tea towel they grabbed at some point on the road and pressed it to his forehead.

"Jesus." He hissed, pulling away. "Where's your bedside manner?"

"Shut up." Jordyn said, checking the cut. It wasn't too deep but it sure as hell wasn't just a scratch. "Look what I rescued for you." She flicked her eyes towards the back of the truck, just behind the wheel of Merle's truck where Andrea had stashed the crossbow for her. "You're welcome." She said, taking Daryl's sudden silence as a thank-you.

"So your plan is to follow this chick?" He growled through his tensed jaw.

"I don't know." Jordyn admitted. "Nothing else to do." She shrugged, leaning her weight forwards, pressing through her fingers to staunch the bleeding of the wound. "I know it sounds hopeless, but the more this goes on the more I think we're just gonna die out here and never find her."

He tensed under her fingers as she pressed harder. "It's a waste of time." He said through gritted teeth. "Hopin' and prayin?" He ran his hand across his skin and wiped off a bead of blood that had trickled down his cheek. "We're gonna locate your little girl," He said boldly. "And she's gonna be just fine."

Appreciating the confidence he exuded, Jordyn nodded and leant off his forehead and secured a bandage around his head to keep it in place and keep the pressure on it. Wiping the remains of Daryl's blood from his face, Jordyn then ditched her soiled towels and bandages, washed her hands with what remained of the water bottle and climbed into the truck just as Remy reappeared chugging along on an outdated but well-maintained black motorcycle.

"Follow me." Remy ordered, picking up speed and skidding out ahead of them where a burly soldier unlocked a sturdy chain link gate to let them through.

**xxx**


	14. Coming To Terms

**Chapter 14: Coming To Terms**

"We go on foot from here." Remy announced as she slid off her bike and rested it against the guardrail of the highway.

It had been two hours of solid driving with only one stop along the way to double check Remy's map. Leading the way on her motorbike, Remy had expertly navigated them to an empty stretch of highway with a dirt road veering off to the left.

Daryl, Andrea and Jordyn all exited their truck and met Remy at the hood where she spread out her map and pointed to a black X marked in the centre of a green field. "This is where B Group was headed."

"What's out there?" Andrea asked, pulling her hair back into a fresh ponytail.

"A warehouse and access to a water main on the river." Remy replied, tapping her finger against the small shapes on the map. "Plan was to for B Group to set up camp and await further instructions."

"From who?" Daryl asked, fidgeting with the bandage that kept shifting over his eye.

"A Group." Remy replied. "They were meant to have a scout go back and forth between the camps as they set up, keeping things organized." Sighing, she rolled the map back up. "This was all based on the assumption that by this time we'd be rebuilding and working on a cure. Not only did that not happen, but we've lost more than half the soldiers we started out with."

"But they'd still be there? B Group?" Jordyn asked worriedly, securing her carry bag and rifle over opposing shoulders. "Even if they didn't hear anything from the other convoy?"

Remy nodded. "They have fresh water and lots of it. You'd be surprised how safe that makes civilians feel." Stuffing her map in the bag on the back of her bike, Remy removed two pistols and slid them into each of her hip holsters. Grabbing her shotgun from its place under the seat, she turned to the trio. "A couple of hours walk, maybe less if we're fast."

Over the guardrail and down a barren hill was a stretch of road that led straight into the forest. Remy directed them, and over the first hour none of them spoke and spent all their energy marching up the gravel road. It seemed to be some sort of service road, possibly just to lead trucks to the water main.

Falling into third place behind Daryl and Remy, Jordyn's mind took her back to where she'd been the night before. That cell. And before that, curled up in Marnie's bed ready to sleep forever. But now she was walking with a purpose again. A destination. However she didn't know how she would react when they reached the end of this road. Many of her decisions in her hunt for her sister relied on trusting people she didn't know. Captain Masters, Remy... if just one of them was wrong, her whole plan could be screwed up. And she had Daryl and Andrea in tow, trusting her to make the right decisions.

Of course, Daryl would probably always question her decisions, silently or otherwise, after what she'd done. Patching up his wound hadn't improved his attitude towards her, he was quite literally a bear with a sore head.

In the midst of her daydreaming, Jordyn only heard the grunt of the Walker a brief second before Andrea screamed.

By the time she'd turned, rifle poised, Andrea was flat on her back with a snarling, limping Walker collapsing on its knees in an attempt to fall on top of her. Jordyn flipped the butt of her gun around and took a flying swing at the Walker.

It toppled to the side giving Andrea time to get back to her feet. Grabbing a stick from nearby Andrea thrust it straight through the Walker's head, and, after a final gurgled moan, it stopped twitching. "Shit." Andrea panted, wiping her hair from her eyes. "I didn't see it until it was on me." Grimacing, she pulled the stick from its skull and held it tight in her fist. "Quiet asshole."

"To your right!" Remy's voice bellowed from up ahead.

Having been focused on Andrea, Jordyn didn't realize that they were actually alone. Daryl and Remy had continued moving ahead. And from the urgency in Remy's yells, Jordyn guessed that they had met some Walkers of their own. With her shoulder bag slapping her hip as she ran, Jordyn kept her rifle raised like a bat as she ran towards the sound of hungry groans and weapons cutting into flesh.

Daryl was yanking one of his arrows from between a Walker's eyes when Jordyn jogged into the clearing. It seemed like the Walkers had just came at them out of every direction. A handful were already decapitated, but more were swarming in from the tree line towards Remy who was expertly fending them off with the butt of her shotgun and well-placed roundhouse kicks.

Jordyn released her pumping adrenaline with a mighty thwack of her gun on a young female Walker with fraying blonde dreadlocks. After Jordyn's swipe, the dreadlocked head bounced twice before lolling to a stop against a dismembered torso.

Behind her, Jordyn heard another snarl and spun around to face two more Walkers grunting hungrily at her. Holding her rifle up like a club again, Jordyn swung it and clunked against both of their heads. She was bringing it back for a second swipe when her fingers slipped, loosening her grip. As her rifle smacked into the solid bone of one of the Walker's skulls, her beloved weapon snapped clean in half. The two metal pieces hung limply from the weathered strap of the now useless firearm that had been with Jordyn since Day One.

"Hey!" Remy, sweating and covered in Walker insides, limped over to Jordyn and handed her both of her pistols. "Both semi-automatic." She explained. "There are three more cartridges on the back of my bike. It's not worth stripping for parts, but you can siphon the gas."

"Wait, I just need one-" Jordyn was shifted and prodded by Remy as she slid one pistol into the back of her jeans and packed the second in her shoulder bag.

With a nervous smile, Remy lifted up the leg of her fatigues. The bite was fresh and deep. Blood pooled at the ankle of her boot and the skin around the wound was already tinged in gray. "It's okay." She said with a shaky smile. "I can keep them busy. Keep going on the path; when you reach the water follow it North. That'll take you to the warehouse. The guy in charges name is Captain Lennen." Lastly she handed over her shotgun. "Two barrels. Enjoy."

"But-"

"Go!" Remy pulled her forwards by her arms and tackled the Walker making a move towards them.

As she passed Andrea, Jordyn grabbed her by the arm and they started running. "Daryl!" Jordyn yelled over her shoulder as she jumped over two rotting bodies.

Snatching one of his arrows from a skull as he ran by, Daryl was at their heels in seconds. Neither of them asked Jordyn about Remy, and she wondered if they had reached that stage in this new world where it was just assumed that if someone fell behind then they weren't coming back.

The path narrowed the deeper into the forest the trio ran. The trees and thickets on the side of the road gradually edged in closer and closer to them until Jordyn felt the leaves and twigs scratching and poking against her skin. Having to slow to a jog, Jordyn could hardly see ahead of her through the shrubbery she waded through. And then, she fell face first into a river.

Andrea managed to cling to the trunk of a thin tree before tumbling off the edge, but Daryl fell in right after Jordyn. It was only a foot or so drop into water, but the way Jordyn and Daryl fell they wound up completely drenched.

"Dammit!" Daryl's face scrunched up in pain as he picked at the bandage around his head that was now dripping bloodied water down his face.

Reasoning that it would be easier to redress the wound than deal with an infection, Jordyn helped him remove the bandage and shoved it into the front pocket of her shoulder bag. The wound was bruised and would most likely leave a scar, but it wasn't bleeding. Much.

"Which way now?" Andrea asked, biting the bullet and hopping down into the water with them.

"North, Remy said North." Jordyn said grabbing her shotgun out of the water. Suddenly she realized she had no idea if it would still work. The only gun she knew how to handle for sure was a rifle, and none of them currently had one. Making peace with the fact that she could use it as a club if nothing else, Jordyn followed Daryl who took the lead up the river and crossed up the other side of the bank.

Following the water North for almost forty-five minutes, it was Jordyn who spotted the warehouse first. About the size of a farmhouse, it was cream-coloured and stood out amongst the thick green weeds and growth that surrounded it. Nearby the warehouse were a half dozen or so family tents, a couple of army vans and a campervan similar to Dale's.

"Three approaching!" A voice called out from somewhere above the warehouse.

"Wait up!" A tall, handsome soldier in full military uniform strode towards them with a pistol raised and a very sharp, nasty-looking dagger hanging from his belt. "That's close enough!" He gestured to some curious onlookers to stay back as he greeted the new arrivals with caution.

"Are you Captain Lennen?" Jordyn asked, suddenly feeling all the weight of her waterlogged clothes. Her legs felt full of cement.

The handsome soldier didn't flinch. "Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"One of your friends, ah," Jordyn closed her eyes as she tried to remember the soldier's full name. "Laura Steele. Remy? She brought us here from Echo Station."

Lennen's face didn't change. "So where is she?"

"She fell behind." Daryl offered.

"She gave me her guns." Jordyn added edging closer to the soldier. "She was holding off a whole group of Walkers that are barely a mile away from here."

"Lower your weapon!" Captain Lennen ordered firmly.

Dropping the shotgun and her bag mid-stride, Jordyn kept walking towards him pulsing with a combination of bravery, exhaustion and insanity. "She was helping me find my sister. That's all I want. That's all we're here for." She said tossing the pistol at the small of her back to the grass and holding her hands up in the air. "Her name is Marnie." Jordyn stopped walking when she could see the soldier's bright blue eyes. "Please," She begged. "Just let me see if she's here and if she's not we'll go."

Captain Lennen glanced at Andrea and Daryl. "You're not infected, are you?"

"No." Andrea answered. "We're not. We came from Echo Station, you're from there, right? You know how thorough their tests are. Jordyn here just had a fever and they locked her up all night. But her blood test came back normal, and Daryl and I don't have the fever."

Chewing the inside of his mouth, Captain Lennen finally lowered his weapon. "That's nasty." He pointed to Daryl's cut. "We got a medic who can stitch that up." With a sharp nod of his head, he turned and gestured for them all to follow him.

He was so tall and his strides so long that Jordyn had to quickstep to keep up with him. "I told you, there are Walkers coming from-"

"Don't worry about it." Captain Lennen said signalling to a young, blonde soldier by a jeep. "Lundy, take two guys and go back South, should be a bunch of infected. Make sure they don't breach our barrier, got it?"

"Yes, Sir!" Lundy responded, whistling to a couple of soldiers playing cards by a small campfire.

"We've got alarms and guys stationed around our perimeter." Captain Lennen informed Jordyn as Lundy and his comrades piled into the jeep and set off. "Thanks for the heads up, though."

"Yeah..." was all Jordyn could respond, she remembered they had set up an alarm of sorts at their original camp with cans tied to rope, so if Walkers came through they'd make a hell of a noise doing so.

With the jeep gone, Jordyn got a better look at the camp. It was quite impressive. It reminded Jordyn of how she and her friends had been living way back at the start of all this. Someone had strung up a makeshift washing line, a small group were sorting through canned food, and people were even sweeping out the tents.

"Why aren't you in the warehouse?" Jordyn asked as she noticed Daryl getting tended to by a cute, young doctor and Andrea being given some water by a curvy woman with a kind smile.

"We keep the dead in there." Captain Lennen said bluntly. "This isn't a permanent residence, and we haven't had any communication with the other convoy. Our plan was to keep moving forwards. We found an untainted gas station, we got enough gas to drive us across the state."

"Is that safe?" Jordyn wondered aloud. In her experience, travelling in a group caused a hell of a lot of noise and even more tension.

"We took a vote." Captain Lennen replied. "Our people would rather take the shot than go back to Echo Station. And what the camp decides goes, it's the only way we can keep things in order..."

Jordyn stopped listening to him when the laughter of a child rang in her ears. It wasn't Marnie, it was a little boy giggling with his mother, but when Jordyn saw him she noticed the half dozen children in the tent next to him all making things out of paper. None of the young faces were familiar. "Is this all of them?" Jordyn nodded at the children.

"We halved the kids between our two groups when we left Echo Station." Captain Lennen said with a shrug. "Your sis could just as easily be with the other group." He pointed up ahead to a part of the river obscured by the warehouse. "Rosie would be your best bet for info."

Following his finger, Jordyn saw a middle-aged woman with coffee-coloured skin coming up from the water's edge wearing tan shorts and a red t-shirt. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight braid and in each of her hands she clasped the fingers of a small child. Both little girls. One who looked like she may be Rosie's daughter and the other who had an exhausted, pale face with her honey-blonde hair in two flyaway pigtails.

Jordyn's heart leapt to her throat.

The pigtailed girl was jabbering away but her mouth froze wide open when she saw who was staring at her. She dropped Rosie's hand and burst forward in a run. "_Jordie_!"

Only managing three steps before she fell to her knees, Jordyn felt breathless as Marnie flung herself into her arms and squeezed her big sister as tight as she could manage. The little body Jordyn clung to was thin and frail, and her mind cruelly made her second guess herself, and told her this wasn't her sister. Pulling the little girl from her arms, Jordyn brushed the strands of hair from her eyes.

"I knew you'd come get me!" Marnie said grinning. "I knew!" She gripped Jordyn's shoulders. "You came back to get me, Jordie."

"Marnie..." Jordyn felt tears burn behind her eyes. Running her finger over her sister's face, she saw the truth. She saw her mother's smile, those familiar blue eyes, that bubbly little girl who shone through and couldn't be anyone else. "Oh, God!" Jordyn pulled Marnie to her chest so fast she knew she'd winded her, but she couldn't hold in reaction.

Marnie hopped onto Jordyn and cinched her legs around her big sister's middle. "I knew you'd come get me." She repeated.

"Baby Girl..." Jordyn couldn't care less that strangers around her could see the tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry." Cradling Marnie's head into the crook of her neck, Jordyn was struck by incredible guilt. "I'm so sorry I took so long to come find you. I'm sorry." She whispered her apology over and over into Marnie's ears.

"Can we go now, Jordie?" Marnie whimpered when Jordyn had managed to control her emotions.

With a giddy laugh, Jordyn kissed her sister's temple. "Yeah, baby, we can go now."

**xxx**


	15. Matters of Blood and Connection

**Chapter 15: Matters of Blood and Connection**

The fear that had plagued Jordyn's heart from Day One didn't really alleviate once she had Marnie. Instead it intensified into a consuming feeling of dread that she would lose her sister again. That was the cruelty she expected in this world. It was at least easy for her to mask; though the smile that spread across Jordyn's lips stemmed a foreign emotion. Happiness had been in such short supply in past months.

In a daze, Jordyn let Marnie drag her towards the tent she shared with Rosie and her daughter, Brianna. Excitedly, Marnie pointed out where she slept and told Jordyn how she helped make breakfast. Jordyn smiled but wasn't really taking any of it in. Her mind still wouldn't let her believe she'd found her sister.

"Bri," Rosie spoke up, winding her daughter's dark curls between her fingers. "Take Marnie over to Helen and make sure she has all her clothes, okay?"

"No, no," Jordyn clutched Marnie's tiny shoulders and kept her planted at her side. "No, she stays here with me."

"It's okay," Rosie said pointing to the tent a few feet away. "It's just there. You'll see her the whole time."

Full of anxiety, Jordyn released her vice-grip on Marnie and stared after her sister as she ran off hand in hand with Brianna. Jordyn felt her heartbeat hammering in her chest. Her fingers anxiously knotted together and she bit down on her lip to keep from calling Marnie back. Her sister chattered with Bri, twirling her skirt back and forth in her hands.

"She was on her own." Rosie said quietly to Jordyn. "At Echo Station. She was crying by herself." Still visibly bothered by the memory, Rosie cleared her throat before she continued. "I couldn't leave her there." Off the tent floor she plucked the weathered but somehow still colourful _Finding Nemo_ backpack and handed it to Jordyn. "They let her go back to the house once; she grabbed some stuff. Since I'm not her relative or anything I wasn't allowed to go with her, so she's been wearing Brianna's clothes. They're a little big but-"

Jordyn winded herself as she flung her arms around Rosie. It was the smallest gesture she could think of to give the woman who had done the noblest thing anyone had ever done for her. She had protected Marnie on instinct; without being asked. Jordyn didn't have the words or action to explain how grateful she was. "Thank you." She whispered. "For taking care of her."

Rosie smiled and patted her back. "You're welcome."

"You said they let her back to the house," Jordyn said blinking the hot tears away from her eyes as she pulled away from Rosie. "They didn't let her see our parents, did they?"

"No." Rosie said, her smile fading. "When they got back, the soldier told me what happened."

"She knows?" Jordyn's heart dropped; she'd wanted to shield Marnie from that.

Rosie nodded. "I'm not sure if she really understands what they did, but she knows that they aren't coming back."

Questions fired through Jordyn's head: had they told Marnie her parents committed suicide? Or had they told her they had been infected? Or did they just say they were dead? Would she ask Jordyn? What would her answers be? And what about Connor? She couldn't know what had happened to him, but at some point she would ask...

"She talked about you all the time." Rosie continued. "_Jordyn's got dark hair like you, Rosie. Jordyn drives her own car. Where Jordyn lives she has a pool. One day Jordyn will come and get me and take me home._"

"Yeah..." Jordyn's eyes glued to her sister. She was giggling. "Only we're not going home."

"Well, at least you'll be together." Her smile returned. "That's the important thing."

Bri and Marnie came hurrying back to the tent each carrying a handful of clothes. Jordyn watched as Rosie took a rucksack and packed the clothes up as well as a couple of juice boxes and a carton of animal crackers. Marnie came right back to Jordyn's side and took hold of her hand. Tight.

"Jordyn?" Andrea's gentle face peered around the tent flap. A broad smile spread on her face when she laid eyes on Marnie. "Hi, there."

"Hi." Marnie said quietly, clinging nervously to Jordyn's hand and leaning against her hip.

"We saw you." Andrea said, her blue eyes glistening, as she looked off to the spot where the sisters had reunited. "I can't believe we found her."

"Marnie," Jordyn lifted her sister up and held her on her waist. "This is Andrea. She came all this way with me to find you."

"Thank you." Marnie said, holding out her hand to shake as she liked to do.

"You're welcome." Andrea grinned and gently shook Marnie's fingers.

"Are you ready to go?" Jordyn had said those words to her sister so many times. Picking her up from school, driving her home, watching her during her swimming lessons; but now it meant something else. Jordyn's life would continue with Marnie now, no matter what.

"Okay, Marnie," Rosie lifted her out of Jordyn's arms and hugged her tight. "You be good. And safe. And take care of your sister." She pressed her lips to the little girl's pale white cheek. "When all this is over, come find us, okay?"

"Yeah." Marnie pecked a kiss on Rosie's cheek and fidgeted to be put down so she could hug Brianna.

As they left the tent with a teary-eyed Rosie hugging her daughter, Marnie told everyone who passed them that she was going home with her sister.

"Where's Daryl?" Jordyn asked, swinging the _Finding Nemo_ backpack over her shoulder and scooping Marnie up off the ground back onto her hip.

"Getting stitches." Andrea replied, pulling a stray leaf from Marnie's hair. "Just here." She directed them into an open tent where Daryl was grimacing in pain as a doctor finished stitching his forehead closed.

"Son_uva_bitch!" Daryl cursed as the doctor pulled the last stitch tight and secured a bandage over it. Cursing some more as the doctor announced he was ready to go, Daryl hopped off the tabletop and knelt straight down on his haunches to pick up his crossbow and Remy's weapons.

Jordyn had been sure the soldiers would confiscate their guns, especially since now that Jordyn was without her rifle. Her two pistols and a shotgun were originally Remy's, but there they all were at Daryl's feet. "They let us keep them?" Hearing her voice, Daryl snapped his head up towards her, just noticing she was there. His eyes darted from Jordyn to Marnie, and his mouth fell open just a fraction. It was as close to shocked as she'd ever seen him.

"Marnie," Jordyn squatted down and planted Marnie on her feet. "This is Daryl. He came all this way to find you, too." Jordyn watched Marnie regard him with curiosity, not sure what to make of him. A damp, bleeding man in a dirty, sleeveless shirt with an intense and bruised face who was also double checking a pile of weapons was confusing for her.

"Hi." Daryl replied with a nod.

"You got a sore." Marnie took a tentative step forward, keeping her hand on Jordyn's shoulder, and pointing at Daryl's new bandage. Even squatted down he was still taller than her. "I have one, too." She lifted her arm up to the air and showed him her elbow. "See?"

"War wounds." He told her. "Wear 'em with pride."

"They said they'll drive us as far as the main road." Andrea said as she stuck her head back into the tent.

Getting back to her feet, Jordyn lifted Marnie with her and clutched her to her side. Taking them back to the main road would mean they would avoid ambling through the forest where they had lost Remy. Not knowing how much her sister had seen of the Walkers, Jordyn wanted to keep them as far from her sight as possible. With Daryl bandaged, weapons back in hand, Marnie all packed up and Andrea looking peaceful; the new gang of four marched back out into the wild.

**xxx**

The soldier who dropped the four off at the main road was quite vocal in his disagreement in helping them, mentioning that the only reason he was complacent was because Remy had given her life to help them. Jordyn found the easiest way to deal with him was to ignore him, and focus all her attention on Marnie.

Having been a premature baby, Marnie had been subject to her family's overprotective behaviour since the moment she was born six weeks early. Olivia had contracted an infection a week after the birth and was unable to visit the NICU, so Jordyn went instead. She'd spent days and nights sitting by that incubator watching Marnie grow chubbier and seeing her learn to breathe without a tube. Even though all she did was watch, Jordyn felt like just being there kept her baby sister safe.

Carrying Marnie, Jordyn wondered how she would adjust to life with their group. Hopefully Sophia would be found safe and well and Marnie would have a friend. Lori and Carol were natural mothers and even Glenn had a brotherly quality about him Jordyn admired. Marnie would fit in with them easily, much faster than Jordyn herself had done, she was sure.

It dawned on Jordyn that the two real wildcards were the two people walking either side of her. Andrea had lost her little sister, but agreed to help Jordyn find hers. Daryl was... Daryl. She sensed he tagged along for lack of anything else to do. Finding Marnie was a task; one that he completed. Close up shop; and move on.

A thought kept swirling around Jordyn's mind that she, Daryl and Andrea should be close. That's what happens to people in these situations. Alone, relying on each other, one becomes dependant on another. Jordyn couldn't say that had happened. Daryl still looked at her twice when she hovered near the rear of the truck, and she knew he counted his brother's pills every night now. It was possible that being alone had done the opposite of what Jordyn expected.

"What's that?" Marnie reached for Daryl's crossbow but Jordyn pulled her hand away.

He cast his eyes down but didn't really look at her. "Crossbow."

"What does it do?"

"Fires arrows."

"Like Robin Hood?"

"No," Jordyn leant her forehead against her sister's in an attempt to hush her down. "He's not like Robin Hood."

They walked in silence for ten minutes before Marnie grew restless. "Can I get down, Jordie?"

The pang of anxiety came back to her chest in a hot rush. "Ah... okay," Jordyn set her sister down and clung to her hand. "But you gotta keep up. And don't let go of my hand, alright?"

Daryl gave her another look; one he'd been giving her every time Marnie asked for something. A look that made her feel like she was being too controlling. She couldn't explain what had changed, but since she had Marnie in her arms her whole world had twisted. It wasn't about surviving anymore; it was about Marnie. Everything was about Marnie. Keep her safe, keep her happy, keep her alive. Marnie. All that matters is Marnie. Maybe it was because she was so young and still so innocent that Jordyn wanted to keep her that way, keep her unchanged so when things went back to normal she could just fall back into her old life.

That was a daydream, of course. Even if the world righted itself, their parents were still going to be dead. Connor wasn't coming back. The city was destroyed. Hell, the _world_ was destroyed for all they knew. The irony wasn't lost on Jordyn, that she was desperate to keep things normal for her sister knowing very well that 'normal' wasn't an option for their future anymore.

Marnie toughed it out until they made it back and happily let Jordyn carry her up the hill towards the truck. With Daryl's head stitched up and vision unobscured, he took his place behind the wheel and got them on the road. Exhaustion overtook Marnie as the sun began to set, and she cuddled against Jordyn's chest with her thumb in her mouth and shut her eyes.

For the first time in a long time, Jordyn felt calm. Holding a sleeping child had always had a soothing effect on her. Her body instinctively wanted to rock her back and forth like she had when Marnie was a baby, like she would have were they back at home and Marnie was having trouble sleeping. That was difficult wedged between Andrea and Daryl, so Jordyn settled for stroking the side of her sister's face and repeatedly tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Do you think she's okay?" Andrea asked quietly. She kept peering down at Marnie and smiling. A tired smile of triumph; her joy at finding Marnie safe and well was much more obvious than Daryl's.

"She's fine." Jordyn said in disbelief, and wholeheartedly wished that to be true. And for it to continue to be true. Keep her safe, keep her happy, keep her alive. All that matters...

The comfort Jordyn felt cradling Marnie spread to every inch of her body, and after days of being kept awake by guilt and nightmares, she finally allowed herself to close her eyes.

**xxx**

Jordyn woke with a jump. The car wasn't moving. The engine wasn't running, and the pillow she was leaning on was making her neck ache. Leaning up, Jordyn noticed Merle Dixon's bike gleaming in the back. Suddenly all her memories came flooding back. Her sister's smile hovered in her mind. "Marnie?" She yelped, feeling her pillow shift heavily beside her.

"Whas' goin' on?" Daryl mumbled dazedly, running his hands over his eyes.

"Marnie, where is she?" Jordyn said, ignoring the fact that her pillow had actually been one of Daryl's shoulders. "She was here!"

"Ssh." Daryl hissed, wincing at the sunlight in his eyes. "Look." He pointed through the windshield.

They were parked at an empty gas station, one of the few they had stumbled upon that was free of bodies, Walker and human alike. On the small stretch of grass beside the fuel pumps were Marnie and Andrea giggling and spinning in circles on the spot.

"Shit!" Jordyn almost busted her leg kicking the car door open.

"Jordie, you're awake!" Marnie said skipping towards her sister, seemingly unaffected by all the spinning.

"Why did you get out of the car?" Jordyn snapped at her, then she turned to Andrea who was having a harder time catching her balance. "Why did you take her out of the car? There could be Walkers all over this place!"

"I started driving a few hours ago," Andrea explained, her face flushed from the spinning. "Then Daryl fell asleep, Marnie woke up and said her legs hurt." Her face became apologetic. "Thought it'd be good for her to run around for a few minutes." Chewing her lip, she shrugged meekly. "I locked the car. Sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine." Jordyn cut in, annoyed that her initial reaction was one she couldn't control. "Thanks. Thank you." She lifted Marnie to her hip and held her body tight. "But can we keep driving? Please?"

"Course." Andrea smiled, forgetting the incident. "Absolutely."

"Don't be mad at Andrea." Marnie whispered to Jordyn as they walked back to the car where Daryl had shifted back behind the steering wheel. "It was my idea to stop and play the spinning game."

"I'm not mad at Andrea. Or you." Jordyn kissed her sister's forehead. "I was just worried. That's all."

As Jordyn climbed into the car she caught that look in Daryl's eyes again, that one that was judging her overbearing Mama Bear complex. Again, she ignored him and once back on the road, Marnie couldn't stop talking to Andrea. The pair were playing an intense game of _I Spy_ when Jordyn allowed herself to dare take another quick sleep. But it wasn't the rousing game that woke her later, or the dull ache that throbbed in her forehead from sleeping against Daryl's shoulder, it was a crackling radio noise that she didn't recognize.

_*buzz...crrahhkk...ffzzzz*_

"Do you hear that?" Jordyn said tiredly, her sudden waking hitting pause on Andrea and Marnie's game.

"What?" Daryl cast a sideways look at her.

_* ffzzzz... ffzzzz..."-ing?"... ffzzzz*_

And then a male voice. "..._farm_...?"

Daryl hit the break and slowed them to a stop right in the middle of the street. "I heard that."

Setting Marnie in Andrea's lap, Jordyn nudged Daryl until he got out of the car and followed the crackling noise to the back of the truck. It was coming from somewhere buried under all the supplies they had collected. "The radio." Jordyn suddenly realized as she started shifting bags and boxes. It had to be the walkie talkie she'd taken with her when she'd left Rick and the others. It seemed like forever ago. After they had left the city towards Alpha Station it had been out of range and therefore useless, but the fact that it was buzzing again meant they were back in range.

It was at the bottom of the bottom bag underneath two boxes of supplies they had collected from her apartment. When Jordyn pulled out the walkie it was cackling with noise. "_Hersh... -ophia...* ffzzzz* farm. Highw_-"

"Rick?" Daryl guessed.

"Or Shane." Jordyn pressed the push-to-talk button. "Shane? Rick? Can you hear me?"

"Climb down." Daryl offered her his hand and helped her hop to the ground. "Walk around, see if it gets a better signal."

The crackling increased the further she went into the open field. She paused at a broken fence and slowly moved towards the centre of the grass. There were planks of timber lined across the dirt leading up to wells and dugouts in the ground. Out of curiosity, Jordyn peered into one of the trenches and was overcome with the rank smell of rancid flesh.

The ditch was a mass grave for the dead Walkers.

Shutting off her nostrils and breathing through her mouth, Jordyn kept wandering around until the crackling slowed down. Backing up, she turned to face the street again seeing Andrea and Marnie peeking through the windshield and Daryl at the side of the road with his crossbow at his side, watching her. Stepping to her right, Jordyn was faced with another timber ramp to a covered ditch, but as she crossed it she didn't see or smell anything inside and assumed the undead had outnumbered the people filling the holes.

On the crest of the covered trench, the radio buzzed and the voice came in again.

*_ffzzzz* "Say again?"_

"Rick! Rick, it's Jordyn!" The timber creaked under her boots.

"_Jordyn?_" His voice came through loud and clear. "_I hear you!" *ffzzzz* "-are you?" *ffzzzz* "-all okay_?"

"Yes!" Jordyn said gleefully, turning around to sign to Daryl that she made contact. But as she turned, the timber splintered and completely gave way beneath her.

**xxx**


	16. One Ordeal After Another

**Chapter 16: One Ordeal After Another**

Jordyn slipped from Daryl's sight like she'd been sucked down a drain.

One moment she was there, smiling and talking into the radio. The next she just plummeted. The splintered timber filled the air with choking flecks of grit. It was old wood; Daryl could see that as he ran towards it at full speed, having to stop and spit the gunk out of his throat before moving on.

It was like the entry to a mineshaft. Daryl could see its metal cover that would have slid perfectly over the top of the trench tossed beside a couple of rusted wheelbarrows. He guessed that's what the timber was there for; to act as ramps to tip the dead into the trench.

Every step he took he edged onto twice, forcing his weight down on it to make sure it would hold him. He found that the edges of the drain were sturdy, but it weakened significantly over the lip of the gutter. Lying flat on his stomach, Daryl inched his way along wondering in what state he'd find Jordyn. If there were Walkers in this hole he hoped they were good and dead. But, hell, even if she landed with her mouth open and got some of that Walker goop into her he wasn't sure she'd be okay.

The mineshaft wasn't too deep. Daryl could see the bottom. The walls were solid, ancient brick, which lead Daryl to believe it might have been in the process of being turned into a shallow well, but had been closed off or abandoned when everyone started coming back from the dead.

The afternoon sun was at enough of an angle to give Daryl a clear view to the base of the trench. Jordyn was sprawled on her side, unmoving. And there was no way for him to climb down to help her.

"Jord-!" Daryl's yell caught in his throat as he inhaled floating timber flecks. He coughed his throat clear and tried again. "Jordyn!"

Someone was calling her name, Jordyn could hear it echoing in the back of her mind.

Turning her head, Jordyn felt a blinding sting sear through her right side. She felt as though her bones were on fire, threatening to burst through her skin. Her mouth was open to scream but no sound came out. Inhaling the breath to push out the scream caused a stab of white-hot pain through her side. Grunting to move her right arm Jordyn found she couldn't move it at all, and a memorable numbness spread across her shoulder and neck. Dislocation.

Curling back into a ball, Jordyn tucked her chin against her chest and drew in slow, shallow breaths. If she inhaled too deep the white-hot pain would slice through her like a dagger. Her head was tacky, she was sure with blood. And a murky wetness coated her lips, she was definitely lying in something she hoped was just muddy water.

Four damp, brick walls surrounded her. It was some sort of trench, unfinished. Or covered up for years and only recently dug open again. Ahead of Jordyn's eyes was a barred window looking down into the darkness of a tunnel or shaft of some kind as though the trench connected with some sort of water or sewer system under the ground, but it was cut off by whatever Jordyn had fallen on. It might have just been a wooden plank but it felt like she'd landed on solid cement.

"_Jordyn_?"

That echoed voice again.

Straining her eyes to look up, Jordyn saw a fuzzy shape staring down at her. The glare of the sun was shining right into her eyes. And then she heard a child's cry that created a fresh ache in her chest. "Marnie..." She tried to call out but her strangled voice barely whispered from her throat.

"Is she alright?" Andrea had Marnie clinging to her side and was holding onto her with both hands. Andrea had brought her pistol and a bag of supplies with her from the truck.

"I think she's knocked out." Daryl edged around the rim of the trench to see if he could get a better look. There was no way for him to get down unless he jumped the fifteen foot drop and fell onto Jordyn, which was likely to result in a broken bone for one of them.

"Jor_die_!" Marnie wailed into Andrea's shoulder.

Ignoring the little girl's cries, Daryl clicked his fingers at Andrea. "Water, I need water."

Andrea knelt down to put Marnie on her feet but the little girl wouldn't let go; so Andrea just let her hold on while she located a bottle of water in her bag and tossed it to Daryl. "Is she waking up?"

"No, but my brother used to do it to me." He twisted off the bottle top and began to pour water onto Jordyn's head. "Course; he'd just piss on me."

Something wet was tapping on Jordyn's temple. _Rain_? Turning her head, water slipped into her eyes and up her nose making her cough and sending a pulse of pain to her side.

"Jordyn?" It was Andrea, her blonde hair was hanging down by her face as she leant over into the trench.

"Yeah." Jordyn tried to answer her but her voice was a mere squeak. So instead; she raised her left arm. It didn't hurt on its own, but the act of moving at all send shudders through her muscles like they were hanging on by a thread.

"She's awake!" Andrea cried out; but her jubilance was drowned out by the guttural cry of a little girl.

_All for Marnie_, Jordyn reminded herself. _All she has is me, I am all she has..._

Gritting her teeth, Jordyn uncurled her body so she was as flat on her back as she could be, and she shuffled backwards on her side. A gust of air blew up from the tunnel into her face and an all too familiar smell caked the back of her throat.

Death.

Jordyn saw the blurred grey eyes a second before a meaty hand missing its thumb burst through the bars right for her face. It was followed by a hungry snarl from a bearded man who was also missing half of his face.

"Shit, shit, shit," Tears of agony streamed down Jordyn's face as she was forced to twist her body to scoot backwards until her back smacked up against the solid wall. Two more pairs of arms came through the bars, and the Walkers squashed their faces against the metal trying to reach in and sink their teeth into her skin.

"Daryl!" She yelled up above, her voice breaking. "I need a gun! Walkers!"

Another pair of undead arms thrust through the bars and grabbed for her ankles, but the slimy fingers had difficultly grasping the frayed hem of her jeans. Jordyn pulled her knees to her chest away from the Walkers, tearing something in her side that made her scream from the base of her throat. A smaller, thinner, child's arm poked through the bars and Jordyn could hear the snarls of a young Walker.

"Jordyn! Heads up!"

Jordyn tensed as the gun bounced off her left shoulder and clattered at her side. Instinctively she reached for it with her favoured hand, her right hand, a pointless effort. Her arm dangled at her side like a sleeve of a jacket. The gun felt awkward in her left hand, but still she managed to aim it at the bars and fire two shots.

The bang of the recoil stung in her eardrums, and only one set of arms vanished, the one missing the thumb. Jordyn fired again, and the four-fingered hand reappeared. Either her bullets were blanks or they weren't hitting their target. Either way, she kept firing until the gun was empty. The hands were all still reaching for her; wasting the bullets had made no difference.

Determined, Jordyn tried to bury a scream in her throat as she slid her spine up the side of the trench. She could feel jagged rock cutting into her back but it was nothing compared to the fire in her side. Her vision was spotty, she felt herself losing consciousness but the idea that if she crumpled into a heap that at least three hungry Walkers would feast on her kept her awake.

Something tickled her left shoulder, out of the corner of her eye she saw dangling rope. Over the growls of the Walkers and her heartbeat thudding in her head, Jordyn heard Andrea and Daryl's voices calling down to her and instructing her to grab the rope. Sliding the pistol into the waist of her jeans, Jordyn snatched the rope and twisted it around and around her wrist.

The Walker arms reached up for her as she was pulled up like she were a dangling prize for them to claim. Almost immediately, Jordyn lost feeling in her left hand from the tightness of the rope, but she didn't dare even twitch. She knew if she fell she wouldn't be able to get back up.

A spattering of rain greeted Jordyn when she reached the top of the trench, the clouds had rolled in and a storm was almost upon them. The cool rain was soothing on her skin, and as Daryl helped Jordyn out she got her first look in the light at her right arm.

"Did they bite me?" A rush of fear coursed through her veins. She could hardly feel her right side at all, let alone control it; what if they'd managed to get their teeth into her and she just hadn't felt it? Marnie was screeching in Andrea's arms, and all Jordyn could think of was that the gunk that covered her was masking a bite that was going to turn her into one of _them_. "Keep her away from me!" She begged Andrea, forcing herself not to look at her sister.

"You're not bitten." Daryl told her.

"What if they did?" Jordyn grabbed the already fraying and stretched collar of his shirt to try and push him back, if she turned she'd bite him.

"I saw you; they didn't get at you, none of them got their teeth through the bars." He gripped her wrists tight and pulled her away from his body. "Look." He made her look at her arms. The Walker gunk slicked off as the rain became heavier leaving her skin dirty, but sealed.

"What if they bit me?" Jordyn started to calm down, breathing heavily through gritted teeth. "And you just can't see it?"

"You're fine, okay?" Daryl said again. "You're _fine_."

He was panting just as hard as she was, and it occurred to her that he had had to pull her out of the trench himself.

"Jordie."

"I'm okay, baby," Jordyn gestured to her sister to come and hug her despite the pain radiating through her right side. Something was stuck inside her, she could feel it. Something was poking her and something was bleeding. "I promise." She kissed the spot just behind Marnie's ear and failed in an attempt to hug her. "Go back to Andrea, okay?" She tried to keep her voice even but her arm was screaming at her.

"What hurts?" Daryl asked as Marnie ran back to Andrea's side and clutched her hand.

"My shoulder." Jordyn grunted. "It's dislocated."

"You sure?"

Jordyn flicked her eyes at her useless arm hanging limp on her right to make her point. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's popped out before." An awkward landing after jumping off a swing when she was seven and a badly timed jump into a lake as a teenager had given her this injury twice before in her life. "Can you put it back in?"

"Yeah," Daryl didn't even seem bothered by her request. "It's gonna hurt."

"Just do it quick." Jordyn clenched her teeth in anticipation. Even though she'd been through this process before, she could never prepare herself for how much it hurt. The first time it had happened it had been popped back in by a doctor, the second time her mother replaced it and she blacked out right after.

"On three, okay?" Daryl positioned his hands at either side of her shoulder and bent her elbow at a ninety degree angle.

Jordyn made an agreeable grunt and braced herself. As she suspected, he didn't do it on three. He went on two. A gurgled cry escaped Jordyn's throat as she doubled over on her knees, hitting her forehead in the dirt. She could feel her arm again, but it was buzzing with pins and needles stabbing her skin. The relocation had winded her and gasping for breath just lit fire to the pain in her ribs.

"You good?" Daryl reached his hand down for her.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jordyn forwent taking his hand, pushed herself to her feet and immediately wished she hadn't. The searing pain in her side burned when she dared take a step and she fell straight to her knees again, too caught off guard by the sting to make any audible noise. Her right arm was still numb and didn't help break her fall.

Whatever was wrong with her, Jordyn couldn't put weight on her right leg. Doing so just sent vicious ripples of pain through every nerve of her right side, a throbbing heartbeat thudded just under her armpit radiating with agony as she drew in each breath.

Suddenly, having the feeling back in her arm didn't seem so helpful.

Standing, Jordyn realized she could see her right side. Nothing was sticking out of her, but something had to be. She could feel it puncturing her insides. A knife, a stick, a needle; something was stuck inside her.

"Walkers!" Andrea shouted, flinging Marnie up onto her hip.

Sure enough, on the horizon, a half dozen Walkers ambled towards them. And back on the highway, a handful more were shuffling their way towards their truck. Daryl slung Jordyn's left arm over his shoulder and looped his hand around her waist. He had to hold just below her hip to avoid aggravating the injury to her side.

Andrea jogged back to the road holding Marnie tight. Jordyn had to hop along on one leg, her right leg collapsed every time she tried to put weight on it. The faster they ran, the tighter Daryl gripped her waist, and the more pain stung through her body.

Muttering soothing words to Marnie as she set her in the car, Andrea turned to help Daryl with Jordyn and suddenly realized they were going to have a problem cramming an injured person into a car that already barely squeezed four people in it.

"Put me in the back." Jordyn offered. All she wanted was to lie down, she didn't care where, but there was no way she would be able to sit and bend her leg. Breathing was hard enough straightened out, bending for the next few hours or more as they drove was impossible.

Shutting the car doors, Andrea got her hands on a pistol and guarded the truck as the Walkers loomed. Daryl shifted some stuff around in the back, then scooped Jordyn off her feet.

"Shit." Jordyn clenched her teeth closed so tight her temples ached. Even though Daryl set her down gently enough, the impact was like a boot straight to her side. The pain was so intense she felt nauseous, but at least lying down she could cradle her right arm in her left. She heard Marnie whimpering and Daryl start up the engine, but she was busy staring up at the sky.

The sky was clear and the afternoon sun sagged lazily above her head as storm clouds moved in and coated the atmosphere a shade of angry gray. The sound of the engine drowned out moaning Walkers, and Jordyn felt almost dreamily comfortable as they drove off.

The comfort didn't last long.

At some point, Daryl drove off-road which made Jordyn bounce up and down like a rock being shaken in a jar. Still unable to use her right arm, Jordyn used her left to grip the side of the truck so she wouldn't go completely flying out. Then they hit a pothole, which sent Jordyn slamming sideways against Merle's truck.

This time, her cry did bellow from her throat when her right side had banged right against the truck pedal right on her wound. Instinctively she grasped at her side with her left hand, curling up into a ball and gasping for breath.

"Oh, shit." Pulling her hand up, Jordyn saw her fingers covered in thick, scarlet blood. A liquid warmth spread underneath her back. Something was bleeding again and she had no idea what it was. Reaching for a towel or shirt or anything within arm's reach was extremely difficult. Any attempt to use her right hand resulted in that burning pain, and she needed her left hand to staunch the bleeding.

The car rolled to a stop and Daryl appeared hovering over her head. "Something's bleeding." She panted at him, frustrated that her right arm now wouldn't cooperate without causing her pain.

He didn't answer her, just climbed right up into the truck and started grabbing stuff. "Andrea, take this." Daryl lifted a couple of boxes and bags out of the truck so he could wedge himself next to Jordyn.

"It's okay, she'll be okay." Andrea was trying to keep Marnie occupied by helping her arrange the boxes, but the little girl just kept staring anxiously through the rear window at her sister.

"I'm gonna move you a bit." Daryl didn't wait for an answer and shifted Jordyn closer towards Merle's bike so he could sort of pin her between himself and the vehicle. If he could wedge her there she wouldn't bounce around as much as they drove, but he'd have to hold her as still as possible.

Andrea started the engine and they took off. She rolled the truck over another pothole, and Jordyn let herself succumb to the sleep that was calling to her.

When Daryl poked at Jordyn's injury and she still didn't wake up; he realized things were really bad.

The rain was getting heavier and the jacket he was using to try and shield them from the wet had soaked through. So instead, he used it to keep the blood that was pooling from her wound from spreading throughout the back of the truck.

It had been almost an hour, it had to be, since she'd blacked out. She was still breathing; he checked every couple of minutes just to be sure, but he couldn't find the source of the blood. He inspected her side and felt the heat radiating of a swollen lump in her side, he wondered if it was something like the appendix, if it got really hot and then burst? Maybe that's what all the blood was from...

Daryl smelled Echo Station before he saw it; the overwhelming stench of bodies was so thick he felt he could see it. Then he realized what he was seeing was smoke. Echo Station was nothing more than a smouldering mass of rubble.

Pulling the truck to an immediate halt, Andrea sprang out of the car. "What the hell happened?" She cried to no one in particular.

Daryl didn't even bother jumping off the back of the truck. It was clear there was nothing left. The bodies were still there, being coated with rain. It didn't help the smell. And death mixed with the rancid stench of burnt who-the-hell-knew-what made him want to gag. "We gotta keep drivin'!" He yelled to Andrea.

"How long will it take to get back to the highway?" Andrea swiped her damp hair off her face.

"We drive all night, we could make it by morning." Daryl said, swinging his legs over the side of the truck. "Switch with me; you gotta hold her still or it'll bust up her wound."

"I can drive-" Andrea started to say.

"I can go faster, I know this truck and I know the way. It'll be faster." He wasn't thrilled about side-seat driving with Marnie, but he knew this was the quicker way.

Marnie was curled up against the door hugging her legs and looked worriedly at Daryl when he climbed behind the driver's seat. Double checking Andrea was secure, she gave him a thumbs-up, Daryl roared the truck to life and skidded back onto the road.


	17. Come Back When You Can

**Happy 2012 all! :)  
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**Chapter 17: Come Back When You Can**

_What had happened to Echo Station?_

From the smell of burnt metal and the smouldering debris, Daryl assumed the station had been bombed or set on fire. Maybe the infection had spread, maybe someone had just gone nuts, or maybe the military had decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

The reason it was gone didn't matter; the fact was that now Jordyn had to wait longer for medical attention. She would get the best care at Alpha Station, but Daryl wasn't sure that Jordyn would survive the trip. He kept thinking of his brother's bag of pills that Jordyn had already helped herself to; he was sure something in there could ease her pain. But she was unconscious; he didn't know how to give them to her.

Rick would know. That's all he kept thinking. Rick and Shane would know; they're cops. Cops know stuff like that. Daryl knew animals, not people. If Jordyn was an injured animal he'd ease her suffering a much quicker way, but that wasn't an option. And Jordyn wasn't injured that badly; she would recover. She had her sister back. So she'd recover.

It was after over an hour of driving before Marnie finally said something to Daryl. "There's blood on you." She was still huddled up against the passenger's side door hugging her legs to her chest. "Is it Jordyn's blood? Is she hurt real bad?"

"Yeah, it's her blood." Daryl answered, not taking his eyes off the road. The rain was picking up and making it hard to see. "But she's fine. She's just... sleeping."

Marnie fiddled with the fraying lace on her left sneaker. "Rosie said my mummy and daddy were sleeping and they can't wake up."

"She'll wake up." Daryl muttered.

* * *

><p>As the rain died down Andrea tossed aside the sweatshirt she'd been using to shield Jordyn from the weather; they were both soaked through anyway. Andrea was heavy from the sweat in her sodden clothes, and the crisp burn of Jordyn's blood hung in her nose.<p>

With the rain easing, Andrea squeezed down beside Jordyn's shoulder and swiped her hair off her forehead. She still had a pulse. Andrea held her wrist in a way that she could always feel it, though more than once on the bumpy ride she'd thought she'd lost it.

With a bang of his knuckles on the rear window, Daryl signalled to Andrea that he was making a sharp turn. Andrea clung to the side of the truck with one hand and Jordyn's wrist with the other. She couldn't keep her from moving completely, but she could at least stop her from bouncing or sliding out onto the road.

When Daryl righted the car on the highway, he swerved and Andrea banged back against the side of the truck. Instinctively she gripped Jordyn's hand and held onto it for leverage; the act causing a pained moan from her injured friend.

"Jordyn?" Andrea shifted so she was kneeling over Jordyn and could see her eyes squinting open. "Hey," Andrea smiled and mopped raindrops off her face with the her damp sleeve. "Hey, it's Andrea. You travelling okay?"

"Where..." Jordyn swallowed hard, and it seemed to take a lot of her strength. "Where... are... we?"

"Going to get you some help." She didn't mention that Echo Station was decimated, or that the radio had been crushed by her fall into the trench. Dampening her spirits didn't seem prudent given her condition.

"Marnie?" Jordyn asked in a whisper.

"In the front with Daryl; she's fine." Andrea assured her, giving her hand another squeeze. "She's worried about you, but she's fine."

"My... s-side." Jordyn grimaced and turned her head to her right. She tried to lift her right arm, and her face immediately contorted in agony.

"Don't move." Andrea turned Jordyn's head so she was facing forwards. "Just stay looking up at me, okay?" Jordyn opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. "You're gonna be fine." She said as Jordyn's eyes closed, and she once again fell unconscious. "You'll be fine."

* * *

><p>The sun was rising when Daryl found himself in familiar territory. Marnie had fallen asleep beside him sitting under the dashboard and resting her head on the seat; she was quiet and sleeping, which Daryl preferred to awake and crying.<p>

Twice they'd stopped during the night: once for fuel at an abandoned gas station and the other when Andrea thought Jordyn had stopped breathing.

"Daryl!" Andrea banged her fist on the glass partition. "Look!"

She was pointing to a dirt road on Daryl's immediate left. He rolled the car forwards and saw what she was pointing out. It was a sign written in dark blue paint.

_Sophia. Follow this driveway. We're waiting for you._

Daryl swung into the driveway, the fact that Sophia was still missing hung around in his head. He could search for her when Jordyn woke up; that's what he would do. He sped up the road creating dust clouds behind him. Up ahead was a large farmhouse, a barn and a couple of sheds. And set up thirty feet or so from the house was a miniature shanty town built around Dale's campervan.

Pressing his palm down on the car horn, Daryl drove up behind the camper and pulled back the handbrake. He was out the door before the car rocked back. The car horn had woken Marnie, who knelt up on her chair and peered out the back window at her sister.

"Daryl?" Trademark hat still in place, Dale came bursting out of his camper with a flashlight in his hand. He stopped still when he saw Marnie; who, at the sight of her sister, again began to cry. "Was she bitten?"

As Daryl climbed up onto the back of the truck he nudged past Andrea who tried to comfort Marnie. Jordyn was out cold again and didn't flinch when Daryl scooped her up. "No, she fell down a mineshaft or a well or something." Daryl said to Dale, scooting out of the back of the truck with Jordyn in his arms. He was glad she was unconscious, because he had to squeeze her injured side to keep from dropping her.

"Shane!" Dale bellowed towards the camper. "Glenn!"

Readjusting his grip around Jordyn, Daryl saw a handful of bewildered people come out of the farmhouse onto the porch. Two he recognized as Rick and Carol, the elderly man, middle-aged woman and pretty young girl he'd never seen and assumed they were the homeowners.

White as a sheet and clutching the inside of his left elbow, Rick shuffled towards Daryl. "What the hell happened?"

Again, Daryl reiterated that Jordyn had fallen and Rick gestured to the elderly man, telling Daryl that his name was Hershel and that he was a doctor.

"Give her here." Shane, who had appeared behind him with Glenn at his heels, held out his arms for Jordyn. For some reason, he was wearing overalls that were way too big.

Daryl brushed past Shane and climbed up the porch. "Her side, she kept saying something was stuck in her." He said to Hershel.

"How long as she been unconscious?" Hershel lead them into a back room.

"On and off all night." Daryl briefly noticed Lori peering out of a room in the hallway as he carted Jordyn through to a bland looking room. The pretty young girl with short brown hair stripped the blankets off the bed before Daryl laid Jordyn on the sheets.

Hershel moved Daryl aside and leant over Jordyn. He looked into her eyes, her throat and poked at her skin before he even looked at the wound that was causing her trouble. His face tightened in a grimace when he lifted up her shirt.

Daryl, who had seen much grosser things in his life, wasn't so much sickened as he was worried at what he was seeing. On Jordyn's skin was a circular bruise that whitened as it came to its centre and rose in a pronounced lump. "What is that?"

Hershel prodded around the bump in Jordyn's skin. "Her rib. The way she fell, she broke it and it's stabbing her inside."

Something was sticking her from the outside in, not the other way around. Daryl frowned. "Well, how do you fix that?"

"It'll fix itself over time." Hershel told him. "But if she said she felt a stabbing pain, the rib could be puncturing her lung or her spleen. She could have internal bleeding, nicked an artery, this blood is coming from somewhere."

"What can you do?" Rick was in the doorway, still pale white but somewhat more alert.

"Move the rib so it's not stabbing her, put pressure on the wound and hope she stops bleeding.

"And if she doesn't?"

"I'll have to cut her open." Hershel said in a voice that made it very clear that was not his favoured option. "Maggie?" The pretty girl with short brown hair stepped up beside him. "Beth found some old sheets in the attic; can you ask her to go get them please?" Maggie nodded and darted from the room.

Daryl watched Hershel prod Jordyn's injury again; he didn't get why he was doing that. Surely it would make it worse.

"Urghh..." Jordyn groaned.

Shifting so he hovered just over her face, Rick attempted to talk with her. "Jordyn? It's Rick, you're back with us and you're gonna be just fine."

"Marnie?" Her voice was hoarse and laboured. "Ma-Marnie?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Daryl volunteered. "She's with Andrea."

As soon as she heard his voice, Jordyn's eyes rounded on him. "Daryl!" She cried reaching out for him. "You keep her away, okay?" She demanded as Hershel forced her back down by her shoulders. "You don't let her see me like this."

Daryl didn't know what to say; so he just nodded.

"Do _not_ let her in here!"

"Jordyn, you gotta lie still." Rick told her. "You fell and broke a rib."

"Ech-!" Jordyn grunted, her face pulling tense.

"I know it hurts but-"

"Echo!" Jordyn gasped. "Echo Station!"

Rick turned to Daryl again. "What's she talking about?"

With another laboured breath, Jordyn's body went limp. Hershel immediately checked her pulse. "Unconscious." He announced. "Sooner we move the rib the better, that's why she can't breathe. It must be puncturing her lung."

"Wait," Daryl stood forward. "But if it has stabbed her lung and you move it won't she drown in her own blood?" He asked. "Happened to a buddy of mine, got in a bar fight and fell on his own knife. It stabbed his lung and they said he choked to death on his own blood."

"No, she's not bleeding out now which means no arteries have been cut. If I remove the bone the lung tissue will heal on its own. But the longer I wait to take it out, the longer it'll take to heal itself." Hershel's eyes scanned Daryl up and down. "Go wash up." Hershel suggested.

For the first time, Daryl looked down at his clothes and saw the wet blood stains all over him. Not just his clothes; he could see blood under his nails and smeared across his skin.

"You can use our shower." The middle-aged woman reappeared and pointed to a room down the hallway.

"Patricia?" Hershel gestured to the woman. "there's some tubes in the boy's room I didn't use, can you get them, please?"

"Of course." Patricia exited the room at the same time Maggie returned with her arms full of faded sheets.

"Here, Dad." Maggie handed the sheets to Hershel.

"Good. Help me shift them under her, okay?" Hershel instructed, moving and almost bumping into Daryl. "Go and clean up, son." He said again.

With a sneer at the old man, Daryl headed towards the bathroom.

"Daryl?" Rick met him in the hallway, speaking low. "Echo Station; what is that?"

"It's where they said her sister would be." Daryl ran his tongue over the back of his teeth. "She wasn't."

"They?" Rick repeated.

"Some military guys were staking out the hospital. Took us to Alpha Station; they were in charge. Not a lot of guys, but they had computers and beds and food. They sent us to Echo Station." He told Rick about the shithole that place had been, and how Jordyn had been locked up because they thought she was infected. He left out his own beat-down; no need to tell Rick about that. "When she fell, plan was to take her to Echo Station for help but the whole place was blown to shit."

"Military, you said?"

"Army guys in army gear with army guns." Daryl shrugged. "Military to me." His eyes were drawn to the room where Jordyn was as Maggie rushed out of the room leaving the door ajar. Daryl could see Hershel hunched over Jordyn's right side. "What kinda doctor is he anyway?"

Rick paused before he answered. "A veterinarian."

"He's a-?" Daryl scoffed.

"He's good at what he does." Rick said firmly. "Carl got shot. It was an accident. But Hershel fixed him up. And he's still healing; but he's gonna be just fine." Rick paused. "He'll do the same for her."

"Yeah." Daryl rubbed the back of prickling neck. "I gotta get changed." He turned away from Rick and continued down the hallway towards the bathroom.

In the mirror over the sink, Daryl caught a look at his reflection. He was covered in mud and dirt, his shirt was torn and stretched, and had bright red patches of Jordyn's blood. He opened the cabinet so he wouldn't have to look at himself, it wasn't anything he wanted to see.

* * *

><p>"Connor; don't run!" Olivia called to her six year old son as he rushed for the pool. He slowed to a fast walk and then did a bomb-dive into the pool. "<p>

Jordyn tightened the knot of her lilac sarong and greeted her mother with a kiss on the cheek. A mismatch on her work calendar gave her the day off, so her mother and step-father had brought the children over to swim in her complex pool. Of a Wednesday lunchtime, it was empty. But given that the bulk of the residents were elderly, they tended to get their swimming done early in the morning.

"Hey, little lady," Jordyn cooed and scooped Marnie up out of her stroller. "Look at you in your bathing suit."

"Hat." Marnie grinned and pulled at the brim of her flowered sunhat. "Mah-nee hat."

"Michael's dropping some food and stuff up at your apartment. I gave him the spare key." Olivia said as she set the stroller off to the side of the pool and started sifting through a large diaper bag. "Can you put this on her?" She handed Jordyn a tube of sunblock.

"Yeah, sure." Jordyn shifted Marnie to her hip and took the sun cream.

"Connor, do you have sunblock on?" Olivia called to her son as she adjusted her aqua coloured caftan over her navy blue one-piece swimsuit.

"Yeah!" Connor replied absentmindedly as he swam to the shallower end of the pool and began to do handstands underwater.

"Did you finish things up with Cathy?" Jordyn asked her mother as she rubbed suncream onto her baby sister's arms.

"I think so." Olivia sighed. "She's a good lawyer," She added settling down on one of the lounges. "It's just so depressing to go through all that again."

"But this is the last time, right?" Jordyn tossed aside the sun cream tube and sat on the edge of the pool. Dangling her feet in the shallow water, she watched Marnie toddle around holding onto the strap of her big sisters bathing suit and eagerly watching her brother swim.

"Yes, last time." Olivia reclined and slipped her sunglasses over her eyes. "So, in the event of a horrendous tragedy that takes out Michael and I, you, my love, will find yourself saddled with these two little devils."

"Yay." Jordyn smiled. Thanks to her secure job at the bar and her stable residence, Jordyn was finally acceptable as the legal guardian of her half brother and sister. Originally it had just been Connor; but then Marnie's surprise conception had sent Michael and Olivia back to the lawyers to alter their arrangements.

"Yay!" Marnie repeated. "Nahhh!" She pointed to her brother. C's were still a struggle for her to get her tongue around, but Connor didn't mind and always answered her attempts at his name.

"Marnie, come swimming!" Connor yelled as he dunked his head underwater again.

"Yay!" Marnie said again, tugging Jordyn's bathing suit strap.

Jordyn untangled her baby sister's fingers and slid into the water. "Come on, baby girl." She pulled herself right up to the edge of the pool. "I'll hold you the whole time."

Marnie looked nervous but teetered near the edge. She plopped herself down and let her toes dip in the water. "Jorh?" She reached her arms out.

"Ready?" Jordyn lifted Marnie up and carefully lowered her into the cold water. Marnie kicked her legs excitedly as Jordyn bounced her up and down a little.

"Jordie!" Connor called out. He was on the edge of the pool again. "Jordie, watch!" He hopped into the pool with his arms and legs stuck out like a starfish. When he came up he was grinning. "You see?"

"I saw." Jordyn gave him a thumbs-up. "Awesome."

"Spash!" Marnie smacked her hand into the water to mimic the sound Connor's dive had made. "Spa_shhh_!"

"You wanna splash?" Jordyn held Marnie under her armpits and lowered her a little more into the water. Her sister squealed and batted her hands like a butterfly. Jordyn tossed her up in the air and she squealed some more. Pulling her back in for a hug, Jordyn kissed Marnie's rosy cheek.

"Spa_shhh_!" Marnie giggled again into Jordyn's ear, pulling at the half-ponytail hanging over her left shoulder. "Jorh hat."

"Not hat. Hair." Jordyn corrected her.

Marnie nodded. "Jorh hat." She said firmly with another pull of the ponytail.

"Pretty much." Jordyn relented with another kiss to her cheek. It was difficult for Jordyn to argue with an eighteen-month-old who had her completely wrapped around her little finger. But Jordyn didn't mind in the slightest.

* * *

><p>The feeling of Marnie pulling at her hair woke Jordyn from deep, dreamless sleep. As she opened her eyes she could feel the roots of her scalp throbbing, like two-year-old Marnie was right there, pulling on her hair again that second.<p>

Jordyn groped behind her left ear expecting to feel her sister's chubby little hand; but found nothing but her own stringy, damp hair. Her eyes adjusted to the room; a room she didn't recognize. It reminded Jordyn of a room in her late grandmother's house that she had filled with ceramic horses. Everything in the room was a horrid shade of beige, including the walls and the thin curtains that dangled at each side of both windows.

A figure slept in the chair by her bed. Male. She didn't recognize him at first. Her vision was foggy but she noticed he had a shaved head. She didn't know anyone with a shaved head. Lifting her hand to get their attention, the figure moved forwards into the lamplight by her bed.

"You look... good." It was Shane.

But a different Shane than the one she'd left behind. Physically, he'd changed. He's shaved all his hair off. The button up shirt he wore was open revealing the thick bandage on his left side.

"You look like shit." Shane shuffled his chair closer. "Thought you were dead, y'know." He sounded angry, but kept his voice low. "Didn't save your life just to have you go die."

"Please." Jordyn attempted to sound sarcastic but her voice was strained and just squeaked out her mouth. "I'll die when I want to." She didn't dare mention her overdosing incident, and seeing as how he didn't bring it up, she assumed Daryl and Andrea were keeping her secret as well.

The left half of her body was tingling, but there was no pain. And she could move without causing herself agony. Still, she kept her movements slow as she reached out for Shane's hand to pull him nearer to her. "They were this close to me." She whispered. The faces of those snarling, hungry Walkers reaching for her in that trench came to her mind. The smell of death they breathed on her, the determination with which they grabbed for her, all of it came rushing back. "This close."

"Come on, you're the girl who told me you wanted to tally up your zombie kills on your belt." Shane said with a wry smile. "What was different about this one?"

He had a point. Jordyn had killed countless Walkers, too many to keep track of on her belt. Some she'd killed with her rifle, some with a handgun, some with a bat, and some she'd run over. At first they were different, Jordyn could differentiate between the men and women - their approximate ages, their height and weight. But now they all blended together. One Walker looked like another and the kills blended together. A swipe of a blade, a shot of a gun, the churn of an engine and _squelch_. Dead.

Closing her eyes, Jordyn let her mind wander back into that trench. The Walkers snapping at her, that was normal. The pain she felt wasn't completely out of the ordinary, and even Daryl and Andrea calling out at her wasn't strange. Suddenly the difference wailed at Jordyn with a sharp, pained cry. "This one Marnie saw." Jordyn croaked.

Shane dipped his head. "She's sweet."

"Where is she?"

"Andrea made her something to eat." Shane got to his feet. "She's sitting with her downstairs trying to get her to sleep."

"No, don't get her." Jordyn pulled on his hand. "Don't let her in here. Not yet. It'll scare her. She doesn't need to be scared anymore."

"Okay, okay." Shane nodded. "I wasn't going to get her, but okay. That Hershel guy wanted to know if you woke up. Stay put." He shuffled out the door.

Jordyn noticed he had a limp and walked slowly. When he came back, she'd ask him what happened. Suddenly, she wanted to sit up. Really, she wanted to get up and walk around but she knew she couldn't. A numbness spread all down her right side.

There was a creak at the doorway. "You awake?"

Not Shane. Daryl. "Yeah, I'm awake." He edged a little closer into the room. "I think it bit me."

Daryl rolled his eyes at her and fell into the chair by her bed. "Shut up with that shit."

Jordyn smiled as best she could. "You look... clean." He was in a sleeveless shirt again; but his clothes were clean and he smelled like soap.

"This place has a shower. But it's creepy."

"Where are we?"

"Some farm by the highway." He replied.

Jordyn tried to roll onto her side, a normal action that she couldn't even attempt, she couldn't control the right side of her body. "Dammit." She grunted and awkwardly laid back against her pillows. "Do I still have my leg?" She asked, wondering if the reason it felt numb was that it wasn't there anymore.

"You got your legs." Daryl told her. "You're hopped up on my brother's pills." He smirked. "Again."

"Nice." Jordyn deadpanned through a painful yawn.

"You clawed your ass outta that hole and left those bastards to rot." Daryl reminded her. "You're banged up but you're fine."

"Would you tell me if I wasn't?"

"Hell yeah. I don't wanna be near no gonna-be-Walker."

Stuck with a pang of fear, Jordyn reached out her hand to him. "Daryl." She said urgently. He gave her a strange look; but tentatively gave her his hand. Jordyn pulled him close as she could manage. "Daryl." She kept her voice low in case Marnie was within earshot. "Promise me that if I get infected you will kill me." She begged. "Please." The memory of those snapping animals in the trench inches from sinking their teeth into her skin hovered in her mind again. "I don't want to become one of them."

With a slow nod of his head, Daryl answered. "Yeah." He said. "I promise."

Smiling tiredly as her eyes became heavy, Jordyn released his hand and let her eyes close. The last thing she saw was Daryl settling into the chair by the window, and then she let another heavy sleep take her over.

**xxx**


	18. Above The Wreckage

**Chapter 18: Above The Wreckage**

Of all the thoughts to come to Jordyn's mind when she woke from another heavy sleep, the first that came to her was her rifle and the memory of it snapping in two when she clubbed it against a Walker.

It was the anxiety that hit her first; that feeling of being unsafe. A feeling that, normally, would ease immediately as soon as she got her fingers on her rifle.

The warmth of the sun heated her skin, and for a brief moment as she groped for the bedside table she thought she might locate the cool metal of her weapon. But she found nothing but empty space. Jordyn felt a tight band around her middle like she was being constricted. Breathing through clenched teeth, she opened her eyes and found herself alone in the same horrid beige room she had been in the night before.

The sun streamed through the thin curtains of all the windows and gave the room a slightly more pleasant glow. Out of the far right window Jordyn saw a couple of gray birds puttering around on a tree branch. A breeze blew through the leaves and the birds took off. It was then that Jordyn realized she was able to turn her head to the right without severe pain.

With her left hand, Jordyn tentatively reached over and felt under her arm. Alarm coursed through her when she realized she couldn't move her right shoulder. Her breathing picked up and the constricted feeling tightened around her again. Her fingers grazed the coarse fabric of a bandage that she discovered was covering her torso and stretched across her breasts down to just above her hip.

A clinking of ice against glass and the shuffle of footsteps came from the doorway, and in bustled a young girl with short brown hair whom Jordyn didn't recognize. The girl smiled at Jordyn. "Good. You're awake," she said setting a tray down on the bedside table. "My name is Maggie Greene. You're in our house, and you're fine."

"My sister?" Jordyn croaked. The bandage constricted tighter when she attempted to clear her throat.

"Marnie, right? She's with that blonde woman, ah, Andrea." Maggie pulled a chair up beside Jordyn's bed. "She wants to come in and see you but that harsh-looking guy with the crossbow said not to."

"Where are all my friends?"

"Set up outside." Maggie answered. "My father doesn't really like you all being here." She sounded embarrassed. "It's nothing personal. We've just been doin' fine on our own. But you can't move yet, so y'all can stay 'til you're on your feet again."

"So I'm not dying?"

Maggie smiled again. "No. You broke a rib when you fell. My father didn't have to remove it; he said he put it back in position and then strapped you up tight. It'll heal back together on its own." She removed a bottle of pills and a cup of water off the tray on the bedside table. "Nothin' you can do for a broken rib except take meds and rest up."

Jordyn didn't recognize the drug name on the label of the medication; but it claimed to be an anti-inflammatory. And right under that tag was the name Merle Dixon. Jordyn wondered how Merle would react if he were around; surely he wouldn't be on board with his drug stash being looted.

After taking her pills, Maggie helped Jordyn sit up and stacked two more pillows behind her back. "My Dad says you sprained your ankle as well; maybe fractured it, so you gotta take a couple of days off your feet for the swelling to go down before you try walking."

Straightened up on her pillows, Jordyn found she could breathe better. The constriction on her torso was still tight; but the stabbing pain she'd felt after her fall was gone. Maggie busied herself at the end of Jordyn's bed and secured an icepack under her right ankle, then she propped the foot up on a folded blanket.

After Maggie left her to rest, Jordyn didn't even begin to drift off to sleep before she received a very welcome visitor. "Coffee. They have coffee." Andrea offered Jordyn her mug as she sat in the chair by her bed. "Marnie's sleeping, Carol's watching her." She sighed. "Sophia's still missing."

Jordyn took a sip of coffee and passed the mug back. "We'll find her." She said confidently. Perhaps it was false bravado, but Jordyn had found Marnie after being convinced she would never see her again. Carol deserved a break, especially with a daughter as sweet as Sophia.

"Echo Station's gone." Andrea said a moment later, going into the explanation of what she and Daryl had witnessed while driving Jordyn to safety. "When you and Carl heal up, Rick wants to check out Alpha Station." Andrea sounded unsure.

"You think it's gone, too?" Jordyn asked.

"Maybe." Andrea smiled tiredly and pulled her legs up to her chest. "We don't have a lot of luck, do we?"

Jordyn exhaled, wincing at the pain it caused her to do so. "How did Shane get hurt?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Well..." Andrea launched into the story she claimed had been told to her over and over by Glenn, Dale, and Rick. The loss of Otis, almost losing Shane, as the duo made a run for medical supplies to help Carl. Shane had barely made it out alive, and was still struck with incredible guilt at not being able to save Otis.

It was the cause of much tension around the house, Otis had been the husband of Patricia. And not only did this group of strangers show up needing medical care, food, shelter and safety, but they also were somewhat responsible for the death of a family member.

Andrea continued to talk, informing Jordyn that Echo Station was gone, and of Carl's progress. She mentioned Lori had ducked her head in a few times to check on Jordyn as she slept. Through yawns, Andrea listed the things she'd been doing to keep Marnie occupied and that her current favourite was drawing pictures. As she closed her eyes and rested her head with a smirk, Andrea told Jordyn that she'd let Dale off the hook and they were almost back to being whatever they were before. Jordyn appreciated the conversation, it took her mind off her injury.

And lying flat on her back in a bed made her nostalgic for home, her normal home. Before. _Before_ she'd needed to watch her back and carry a weapon. "I don't have my rifle." Jordyn remembered bleakly, her statement waking Andrea out of a light doze. It was a trivial complaint; but her mind wouldn't let it go.

"There's one in our stash." Andrea replied, straightening up in her seat. "Shane and Rick are going to start training everyone to use the pistols we've got. Maybe you can change things up with a shotgun."

Shotguns were not her cup of tea. Granted, Jordyn didn't really know a thing about them. But way back on Day One when given the choice of the brown sawn-off with a jagged trigger and the sleek, poisonous-looking rifle with the strap... "Do you think Daryl would be pissed if I went and got a crossbow?" Jordyn wondered aloud.

"Dunno..." Andrea smirked again. "But can I please be there when you ask him?"

"Sure." Jordyn, too, was curious to see his reaction to someone copying his weapon. "Bring him in."

"He's not here." Andrea stifled a yawn. "He's out looking for Sophia."

Jordyn paused. "Already?"

"You've been out of it for three days." Andrea told her. "He took a day off to sleep, but he was gone by morning. Rick said he didn't want anyone going with him."

Suddenly Jordyn was hit with a pang of guilt. Not for Daryl, but for Carol. Jordyn had wasted more time than she cared to think about _not_ searching for Marnie. And when she finally got out on the road it had been a daily, almost hourly, struggle to keep going. Especially after finding her parents. But Daryl and Andrea had kept going; they never stopped. They were always looking forwards, so it really didn't surprise Jordyn that while Andrea was caring for Marnie, Daryl was out searching for Sophia.

Jordyn's guilt stemmed from a selfish place, a place she was lucky enough to be in because she had found her missing little girl. Carol hadn't. To Jordyn, it was easy to think that Daryl could take a day or so off to recover. But to Carol; every passing minute without her daughter was torture. And it seemed that only Daryl was attempting to alleviate her heartache.

* * *

><p>"<em>Jor<em>-die..."

From a troubled sleep, Jordyn awoke to the gentle prodding of a finger against her cheek. Immediately she opened her eyes to see the smiling face of her baby sister staring down at her. "Hey, lady." Jordyn reached out and ran her hand across Marnie's cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Marnie climbed up onto the bed and sat cross-legged. "Andrea said not to come wake you, but I have to give you something." She took a piece of paper from the bedside table and held it up. "I draw'd it for you." It was a picture in black and red pen of two smiling faces. "It's you and me. Andrea helped me with some of the words." Underneath the smiling faces was a short and sweet sentence in Marnie's improving handwriting: _Thank you for coming to get me. Love Marnie_.

"Oh, thank you," Jordyn took the picture and pressed it to her chest. "My first get well card." Shifting slightly, Jordyn motioned for Marnie to lie beside her. "I love it." Marnie wasn't rough, but she dropped her head against Jordyn's shoulder in such a way that it sent a vibration through her injured side. Not wanting to alert her sister, Jordyn just clenched her teeth until Marnie stopped moving.

"Jordie," Marnie asked as she played with a black thread bracelet around her wrist. "Can we go home soon?"

Jordyn pressed her lips to Marnie's crown. "No, baby. I don't think we'll be going home for a long time."

"Because of the monsters?"

"Yeah," Jordyn sighed and began threading her fingers through Marnie's soft hair. "Because of the monsters. It's not safe to go home right now."

"Do I have to go back?"

"Back where?"

"To the Echo building."

"No." Jordyn replied immediately, but she held back on the information that, according to Andrea, Echo Station had been completely destroyed. "No, you never have to go back there. We gotta stick together, you and me."

"Yeah." Marnie agreed and snuggled against her sister's chest. "Stuck together."

* * *

><p>A pleasant dream... so many lights and colours. Magical. Hilariously fun. Laughter. Drinking. So much fun...<p>

Then stabbing. Burning and stabbing, daggers in the skin. Throbbing. Pain... pain... _pain_...

Jordyn felt like she'd been kicked in the side, opening her eyes she saw why. She'd rolled over onto her right side in her sleep, and her wound was screaming at her in anger. A foreign hand grabbed her shoulder and pushed her gently onto her back. "It's okay, honey, you're okay."

"Lori?" Jordyn's eyes focused on the tangled mess of brown hair draped around Lori's thin face.

"You're awake now." Her smile was tired, but her eyes were kind as always. "Seems like every time I came in here you were sleeping. Started to take it personally."

The pain alleviated somewhat what Jordyn was on her back, but she still felt like her heart was throbbing where her rib had broken. Spying out the window, Jordyn wondered what time it was. Judging by the blue-green hue of everything outside and the still silence of the farmhouse, Jordyn assumed it was morning. She had no idea what time it was when Marnie had visited her, or Andrea for that matter.

"Your sister's fine." Lori said softly. "She's sleeping on the couch downstairs. Andrea's with her." On the bedside table beside Marnie's drawing was a bowl of water which Lori shifted to her lap. "I've been doing this to keep you cool." She dipped a washcloth into the water and started cleaning Jordyn's arms. "And to keep the dirt of you. Glad this ain't my house." She swiped the moist cloth up to Jordyn's elbow and then back down her wrist. "The dust would drive me crazy."

"Why are you up?" Jordyn asked her.

"Since Carl," She shrugged limply. "Haven't really been sleeping."

"How long have I been here?"

"This is day four." Lori answered, rinsing the washcloth. "You're getting better. Overheard the Doc saying your ankle swelling's going down."

"Sophia?"

Lori froze in her movements, sighed, and then began cleaning Jordyn's skin again. "Nothing yet. But we'll find her. Rick's been resting up since he gave Carl his blood; but he and Shane are headed out tomorrow to look for her. They got a map, gonna get a couple of teams together and look all over. She's gotta be nearby."

"Lori, could you do me a favour?" Jordyn asked, the ache in her abdomen becoming very insistent. "Could you help me pee?"

The request didn't faze Lori in the slightest. "Of course." Lori pulled back Jordyn's sheets and took her left arm. Slowly, they leant forwards together and Lori hugged Jordyn close to her body. "Careful, okay?"

A strange numbness buzzed up and down Jordyn's right leg, she worried if she leant any weight on it that her ankle would just roll and lay her up for a few more days. So instead, she fell almost completely against Lori. Jordyn's left leg worked; but it was out of practice and shuddered at the sudden exercise.

The hardwood floors were cool on her bare feet, and her legs shook from having been unused for almost a week. The cotton shorts and lilac t-shirt she wore were not clothes of her own; they were softer and cleaner than anything she carried with her. With her right arm cradled against her stomach, Jordyn pressed against Lori and let her lead the way out into the hall.

With two functioning legs Jordyn could have made it to the bathroom in three steps, instead it took her at least ten minutes. Every few shuffles forward she had to stop and catch her breath. The excursion wasn't so much from her finally moving, but the concentration she applied to force herself to stay upright going to and from the bathroom. By the time she made it back to her bed, she was sweating.

Once Jordyn was under the covers, Lori resumed cleaning her skin with the washcloth. With Lori's light touch and the cool of the morning air against her damp skin, Jordyn was able to close her eyes and drift back... back into those colours... back into that magic of her dream.

* * *

><p>A beautiful smell of summer gave Jordyn the most peaceful wakeup she'd had since her injury.<p>

Her eyes opened to the morning sun warming her room. The window was half open, and a cool breeze ruffled the curtains. On the wind, Jordyn caught the sound of voices chattering outside. Intrigue, boredom, and an unsettling feeling of cabin fever spurred her to want to judge her bodies capabilities. Resolving that it would never improve until she tested her muscles, Jordyn gently pulled off her blanket and rolled to the left side of her bed.

Gritting her teeth through the burn in her rib, Jordyn swung her left leg to the floor, relieved that it seemed to work like normal, but she had to lift her right leg by the knee to get it to move. In the sunlight she could see the bruising around her shin. The underside of her right foot tingled like she had pins and needles, so she put all her weight on her left. With her right arm held tight against her stomach, Jordyn pushed herself up. Doubled over, she leant against her bedside table to get her bearings. Straightening completely was never going to work with her rib, so she stayed hunched over and used her left hand to press of the wall towards the window.

A tentative test of her right foot almost sent her falling onto her backside. Not through pain; but she couldn't feel it all that well. A bubble of worry formed in her stomach; she'd need both her legs to outrun Walkers. It made her more determined to get back on her feet, so to speak.

The closer she edged to the window, the easier it was for Jordyn to identify voices. She heard Rick's, and a deep voice she now knew as Hershel Greene's, and the gravelly sound of Daryl pointing out what areas he had searched.

Leaning against the window frame, Jordyn peered down to where everyone was grouped around a wide map that spread out across the bonnet of a car. As well as Daryl, Rick and Hershel, Jordyn saw Andrea and Shane. They were pointing out locations, circling areas with a black marker, and each of them held a weapon.

While adjusting his crossbow over his shoulder, Daryl looked up and saw Jordyn; and looked twice as if he thought he may not have seen her at all.

Jordyn smiled at the look on his face, she wondered if he was surprised. He rarely looked surprised. Her right hand still cradled her middle, but she waved at him with her fingers. He gave her a nod and a smirk in reply, she assumed it was his version of a smile.

"Get back in that bed!"

Jordyn jumped, but managed to hold her balance on the windowsill before she fell onto her backside. Lori was giving her a motherly glare from the doorway. "Get back in there." She ordered again, clicking her fingers from the window to the bed as she approached Jordyn. With an arm around her shoulders and the other taking her hand, Lori lead Jordyn back to her bed.

Using the same amount of effort as she had on her hobble to the window, and wincing through more twinges and sharp pangs in her side, Jordyn shuffled back towards her bed. She'd been laid up for four days, and from the way she felt she wasn't going to be running around for quite a while, so the least she could do for herself was to walk the three feet to her bed. Although, she didn't shove Lori away when she rearranged her pillows covered her with her blanket. As much as she wanted to get back on her feet, there were a few things about being laid up that Jordyn could live with.


	19. Where You Go When You're Gone

**Chapter 19: Where You Go When You're Gone**

Two nights later, Glenn finally came to visit Jordyn.

His first words to her were kind, if not slightly forced. "You look... Great," Glenn said with a tense smile when she woke up and laid eyes on him.

An earlier trip to the bathroom aided by Lori had shown Jordyn she most definitely did not look great. Bruises were forming all over her body, including a nice shiner under her right jawbone coupled with the rough skin on her cheek she'd sustained when she fell. At first Jordyn had thought it might have been bad sunburn, her skin was so pink and red, but as the days went on it became clear the layer of skin on her cheek had been shaved off due to the angle that she slammed into the ground.

"It's been a little crazy," Glenn said when Jordyn asked why he hadn't visited her sooner. "You fell, Carl got shot, Sophia's still gone, that Otis guy died, Shane shaved his head, Lori's pregnant, Rick-"

"Lori's pregnant?"

Glenn's jaw hung open mid-sentence. "Crap." He muttered. "Don't tell anyone, okay? She told me not to tell but I suck at keeping secrets, especially with two cops around."

"It's okay," Jordyn curled onto her left side and hugged her right arm to her chest. "I could use something else on my mind."

Light footsteps came up the hallway and Maggie walked in carrying a larger tray than she had before. "Dad says you can eat by yourself now." She said, glancing at Glenn as she set the tray down on the bedside table. "We're outta the painkillers you were on," she picked up an orange pill bottle and poured a couple of capsules into her palm. "So you're on some new ones you gotta take with food. These are stronger. My Dad says they might make you a little loopy at first." She handed Jordyn the pills and passed her the glass of water while keeping her hands close in case Jordyn's grip failed.

When Jordyn had downed the pills and finished off her soup, Maggie left the room with a lingering look and smile shared with Glenn. "She's pretty cool, huh?" Glenn said quietly when they were alone.

"Yeah, she's great." The soup wasn't settling all too well in Jordyn's stomach since it had been a few days since she'd eaten substantial food, so she curled into a ball to ease the rumbling.

"She likes me." Glenn looked almost giddy.

"Everyone likes you." Jordyn muttered. Glenn launched into a story about taking a couple of horses into the town, but before Jordyn could ask why, her new medications seemed to take immediate effect. As Glenn described a pharmacy, Jordyn closed her eyes and let a hazy sleep take her over.

* * *

><p>The following day, Jordyn stood on her own two feet without falling. That night, she was able to shuffle from her bed to the window. Her right leg was stiff and still weak, but she could hobble along holding the wall while favouring her left leg. And it surprised her how happy she was to be able to make the trip to and from the bathroom by herself.<p>

It took almost ten minutes, but later that evening with Andrea's help Jordyn made it downstairs, much to the delight of one person in particular.

Marnie's eyes lit up when she saw her sister. "Yay!" She squealed and bolted from where she was kneeling by the coffee table in the living room towards Jordyn.

"Whoa, whoa," Andrea caught her before she tackled Jordyn. "Careful."

"Hug me on this side." Jordyn jutted out her left hip and Marnie immediately flung her arms around Jordyn's thigh and squeezed.

"Will you come play with me?" Marnie looked up and poked her chin high into Jordyn's leg. "Please?"

"Play what?"

"Look!" Marnie ran back to the centre of the living room and sat back down at the coffee table. She was having a tea party with her camel-coloured teddy, Elroy, an extremely weathered _Barbie_ missing one arm, a ragdoll with big, blue button eyes and a gray horse with its ears chewed off.

"Maggie brought them down from the attic." Andrea said, relaxing back against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. "She's been playing with them all day."

Struck silent, Jordyn stared at her sister. The happy smile on her face, the crinkle in her smooth forehead when she scolded _Barbie_ for spilling her invisible tea, the tender way she cradled Elroy to her chest, signalling him as her favourite. Marnie had created her own little world where she was happy and having fun.

A lump caught in Jordyn's throat. The scene of innocence in front of her was one she thought she may never have seen again. "Thank you," she grabbed for Andrea's hand and pulled her against her body in an awkward hug. "Thank you, thank you, _thank_ _you_." Her throat ached with the sobs she was keeping in, but she didn't want to alert Marnie that anything was wrong. Instead, she muffled her cries in Andrea's shoulder and stayed there until her eyes were dry.

* * *

><p>An unexpected rush of excitement greeted Jordyn the following morning because she ventured out into the sun for the first time since her fall. Going upstairs proved harder than going down them, so she had spent the night on the couch. Marnie had dragged her blanket and pillow so she was curled up on the floor beside her big sister. No matter how many times Andrea shifted her back to the sofa they'd been sleeping on, Marnie always moved back. In the interests of letting all of them get some sleep, they just decided to leave her there.<p>

The excitement Jordyn felt was also due to seeing someone else out for the first time in a long while. Carl was outside with Lori. He could stand up on his own; but he couldn't move very fast so he stood near his mother. It worked out well because Lori checked Carl's bullet wound every few minutes to make sure he wasn't aggravating it.

Jordyn didn't attempt to go out onto the grass just yet; it was hard enough for her to stumble along a tiny step at a time while hanging onto the wall or whatever she could get her hands on to make sure she didn't fall. Her right side was strengthening but couldn't completely hold her weight just yet. So, she sat herself on the porch looking out to the open land. It was so peaceful, and the loudest sound she heard was Marnie giggling when Carl purposely pronounced her name wrong to make her laugh.

"No, it's Marnie!" She yelled at him through giggles.

"Martin?" Carl replied, sending the little girl into another fit of laughter.

Jordyn had been hearing footsteps wander up and down the porch steps for awhile, so she didn't turn when she heard scuffled boots walking towards her. Then she saw a figure waiting out of the corner of her eye. Daryl was standing there silently chewing on a twig. In his hand he held out a stick to her and nodded at her to take it.

"A stick?" Jordyn smirked as she wrapped her fingers around it.

"It's Mockernut Hickory." Daryl explained. "It's strong and it bends. You can use it to help you walk."

A smile crept to Jordyn's lips, she was touched. Everyone else was helping her walk by lending her their shoulders and arms, but Daryl, who didn't seem to like any social interaction, had decided to help her in his own way. "Thank you." She said, looking up at him again and noticing he had his crossbow over his shoulder and wore an uncharacteristic shirt with arm-length sleeves. "Where are you going?"

"Sofia." He answered with a shrug.

"I could come with you?" Jordyn offered with a glib grin. "Now that I have my stick."

His mouth twisted into a smirk, but he didn't take her up on her offer. "Taking a horse, going out a bit further."

"Oh, then no. Don't like horses." Jordyn shook her head and settled back in her chair, hearing Marnie's laugh sing out across the breeze again. "Too big, too fast, and their legs are freaky thin."

"You should learn to ride." He told her, shifting from one foot to the other. "Gas is gonna run out eventually."

"Are you offering?"

"I ain't a teacher."

"Well, if you can ride a horse, you're one up on me." Jordyn said. "So when my rib heals up, you could see about helping me break it all over again."

Daryl's mouth twisted into another smirk. "Yeah, okay." He backed away and jogged down the porch steps, glancing briefly at her one more time before he headed swiftly towards the stables.

"Hey." Maggie came onto the porch with the tray of water and pills she always brought to Jordyn. "Time for your meds." She set the tray on the arm of her chair and sat herself up on the porch fence.

Thanking her, Jordyn quickly swallowed down Merle Dixon's painkillers and went back to watching her sister play about.

"You know Glenn pretty well, huh?" Maggie suddenly asked.

"Uh, not really," Jordyn felt her eyebrows rise. "He's great, but I don't know him that well." It suddenly struck Jordyn that she wasn't sure of Glenn's surname. Or Andrea's, for that matter.

"He was worried about you when you were gone." Maggie continued. "You two together?"

"What?" Jordyn barked out a laugh that sent a shockwave of pain through her rib. "No." She grimaced and settled back trying to ignore the throbbing in her side. "No, definitely not. We're just friends. That's it." Jordyn narrowed her eyes a little at Maggie. "Do you like him?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm sleeping with him." Maggie said with forced bravado. "So I hope I like him."

Perhaps it was the drugs working fast, or her injury, or the stirring feeling in her heart when she looked at her new walking stick, but what Maggie admitted didn't shock Jordyn. Not as much as the young farm girl seemed to think it would. "Glenn's great." Jordyn affirmed. "And he's a good guy, if that's what you're wondering."

"Yeah," Maggie smiled appreciatively as she got to her feet and picked up the metal tray. "I knew that."

As Maggie retreated inside, Jordyn held her stick across her lap and rolled it around in her fingers. With a relaxed smile pulling at her mouth, she watched Marnie learning to make dandelion jewellery with Lori until her medication took hold and she fell asleep right there on the porch.

* * *

><p><em>Stupid damn horse<em>.

Flat on his back, Daryl stared up at the sky. Stupid Goddamn horse got spooked and thrown him off. One of his own arrows had punctured his left side, but on shaky legs he'd managed to tend to the wound, stop the bleeding and get back on his feet.

Her doll; he'd found Sophia's doll floating in the creek. That was a sign. A Cherokee Rose the day before, and now her doll. It was a sign he was getting close to finding her.

Tightening the tourniquet around his waist, Daryl limped towards an incline that would lead him back up on the track he'd been following before the horse bucked him off.

_Marnie was harder to find, _he kept thinking_. Sophia's just hiding. Lost. _

Marnie had been taken, moved around, relocated, again and again and again. And the information he relied on he'd had to take on faith. Jordyn's faith. Or what little she had left of it after her overdose. But after all of that, they had found the little girl alive and well. Jordyn had been so happy. And now Carol had that same face on her, that same look that Jordyn had when they found her folks bodies. Jordyn deserved Marnie back; Carol deserved Sophia back.

"Move yer lazy ass..." Merle's voice suddenly snarled from the crest of the cliff. "Damn Walkers are just waiting for yeh to kick the bucket and feast on yeh."

Daryl knew the version of his brother he saw wasn't the real Merle as much as he was a creation of a concussed mind, but Daryl still clung to him. His brother. The one he'd left behind.

"Chasing another little girl," Merle's voice droned on. "Following one girl with another girl to find a little girl?" He smirked. "And now doing it all over again? You their bitch now?"

"I ain't nobody's bitch." Daryl spat, heaving himself up the steep incline and grabbed the trunk of a thin tree. Using it as leverage, he pushed off and gripped the roots of a shrub to pull himself closer to Merle's voice. "I ain't nobody's bitch." He said again.

"Naw..." Merle was closer. Or rather, Daryl was closer to Merle. He could see his wide smile, the scars on his face. His brother. "You're a hero now. Teaching that chick to ride. Big damn hero saving the kids from the burning building."

"I ain't a hero." Daryl groaned through clenched teeth as he heaved himself up the final rise before he would be at Merle's feet.

"No..." Merle said through a chuckle. "No, you ain't, are yeh?"

Cursing, Daryl rolled onto his back expecting to see Merle sniggering above him. But his brother was gone. Instead Daryl was staring at the sky, again. Alone, again.

Using another tree trunk to pull himself to his feet, Daryl started hobbling further along the path. Not back to camp; he wouldn't go back yet. There were still a good four hours of daylight left; four hours that he would spend searching for Sophia.

Nothing to do at camp, anyway. Rick and Lori all worried about their boy, Shane mixed up in something of his own doing, Andrea taking care of Marnie, and even Glenn had found a friend in the pretty girl with brown hair who lived at the farm. And Jordyn, still stuck in bed from last he heard.

Hopped up on his brother's drugs a second time around. The thought made Daryl want to smile. Merle would have blown his stack had he known how easily his meds were being passed around. He wasn't sure if it was his blow to the head or what, but Daryl suddenly thought back to _Ted's Bar_ where Jordyn had first taken him and Andrea.

A bartender; she'd worked at a bar. One Daryl had never been to; too close to the city for him. And on entering the bar with Jordyn, Daryl knew it wasn't his thing. It had the feeling of someone's living room where men would come around to watch a football game. No smoking. Alcohol locked up. No bouncer. Only one chick behind the bar. Daryl would have walked right passed this place.

And he'd never been big on sports bars; the beautiful women he sought out for company rarely frequented them in his experience. All the bartenders Daryl knew were huge guys and girls with beer guts, tattoos, and muscles to scare of unruly customers; usually Merle and however many of his crew he was drinking with that night. No bartenders he knew looked like Jordyn. She would stick out like a sore thumb at any of Daryl's favoured drinking holes.

The bars he went to were messy, dirty, foul-smelling places that seemed to entice a certain breed of human being through its doors. The women wore too much make up and drank just as much as the men. A beautiful woman could soon become the very opposite of that after a few hours of drinking, and turn into a vapid, shrieking she-devil. Humorous to watch, hell to have to live through.

Jordyn wouldn't make it through that bar door. She's too polite. Too quiet. Too clean. She doesn't belong in a bar like that. She belongs in a bar where she can smile without being hit on by a drunkard, and not worry a creep will follow her home. Daryl had never seen a girl like Jordyn in any bar he'd been in; he knew it was for good reason.

They were smart enough to look elsewhere, smart enough to realize whatever might be in that dingy bar was definitely not worth a second glance.


	20. Down Came The Rain

**Chapter 20: Down Came The Rain**

Such a pleasant dream... so many lights and colours. Magical. Hilariously fun. Laughter. Drinking. So much fun... Lori laughing and smoothing her hands over her growing belly... Sophia giggling with Marnie... Glenn and Maggie dancing... and then Connor... Connor... Connor was infected.

Connor, that beautiful baby boy, was a monster.

Beautiful Connor... biting, chewing, eating... infecting. Everyone.

Marnie, Olivia, Michael, Lori, Carl, Sophia, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl... all bitten, all infected, all dying.

Then crying. Marnie screaming in pain that had nothing to do with an injury. A scream that was unending, a scream that reached to every corner of Jordyn's mind.

"Mama!"

"Marnie?" Jordyn was ripped from her sleep, it was Marnie's insistent cries that jolted her awake along with the booms a heavy thunderstorm. Someone moved Jordyn from the porch to the couch inside, because that's where she woke up. Pushing through the sting in her side, Jordyn scooped Marnie from the floor up onto her lap. "It's okay, baby girl."

"Mama!" Marnie wailed and hiccoughed clutching a threadbare blanket under her chin. "Where's Mama?"

"Ssh, shh," Jordyn folded her sister against her body and threaded her fingers through her hair. "You're okay."

"It's raining!" Marnie cried, squeezing Jordyn tight around the neck.

"I know, I know," Jordyn rubbed her back. "But we're inside, we'll be safe." It wasn't the first time she'd comforted her sister through a storm, but her apartment was solid. The walls of the farmhouse shook like hundreds of people were banging their hands against them; even to Jordyn it was unsettling.

"Mama's song?" Marnie asked hopefully.

A burst of panic throbbed at Jordyn's heart when Marnie mentioned their mother. _Not now_, she willed to herself. _Please don't let her start asking about them now_...

"Mama and I made up a song," Marnie continued through sniffles. "To scare the rain away."

This was news to Jordyn. From what she knew, it wasn't so much the rain, but the roar of thunder and lightning that Marnie was afraid of. When it stormed at Jordyn's apartment she just let Marnie sleep in her double bed and that would calm her. But a song? "I-I don't know it, baby, I'm sorry."

"I need my song." Her tiny voice shook and she started crying again. Overhead, a groan of thunder rattled the windows.

Jordyn's mind was blank for nursery rhymes, and the songs from cartoons Marnie liked to recite over and over to her toys, and even that ancient song Michael used to sing from his youthful days as a wannabe disk jockey, what was that song? Inappropriate for a six-year-old, but Marnie loved it. What was it...?

All she wanted to do was take care of Marnie; all of this was for her, all of this struggle and survival. Whatever Marnie needed, Jordyn would give to her. Including a song. But Jordyn's mind was blank. When Marnie was a baby, Jordyn had sung to her all the time. Even put a tune to a magazine article during one vacation when her mother had forgotten to pack story books.

A song swirled in her mind, an old track from The Bangles that her mother used to sing to her when she was little. A song Jordyn had heard her mother use as a lullaby for Connor when he was colicky, the only song she could remember.

_"When the daylight disappears._

_When you're haunted, I'll be near._

_When the shadows come to call._

_When you're too scared to stand tall, I can stand tall._

_Dream and let your dreams go._

_It's your time to fly._

_As long as I'm standing by._

_You can close your eyes._

_I will take care of you._

_Long as you want me to._

_Whatever else I do,_

_I will take care of you."_

The song had more verses, but Jordyn couldn't remember them, so she just repeated the lyrics she knew over and over until the storm faded to nothing more than the gentle pattering of rainfall, and Marnie calmed herself back to sleep.

Again, she was yanked from sleep by cries. But this time they weren't Marnie. And they weren't upset; they were Rick's frantic orders being barked through the house.

Through her bleary, early morning eyes Jordyn was sure what they were dragging was a Walker. Grey skin, tattered clothes, blood around the mouth; and then she saw the crossbow. The tattoos through the back of his ripped and stained shirt. The Walker was Daryl.

His weapon was in Andrea's hands as she trailed behind Shane and Rick who were suspending Daryl's body between their shoulders. Jordyn pushed herself up off the arm of the sofa and tried to ask what was going on; her voice drowned out by Rick's orders to Hershel, and Andrea's hysterical apologies. "I-I-I didn't see him! I'm sorry, Daryl, I didn't see! I thought he was a Walker! I thought he - I'm sorry!"

"You shot him?" Jordyn clutched Andrea's arm as they watched Shane and Rick lug Daryl upstairs with Hershel shouting orders at Maggie as he followed behind them.

"Look at him!" Andrea nervously thread her hand through her hair. "I thought he was... I didn't see that it was him."

It took a half hour for Jordyn to calm Andrea down enough to get the whole story out of her, that seeing him in the dwindling sunlight hobbling from the forest she'd thought he was a Walker, and fired a dangerously close shot at him.

Amidst the noise, Marnie woke up and stood beside Jordyn with bleary eyes, clearly not taking in anything she was hearing.

"He's unconscious." Hershel said as he descended the stairs, cleaning his hands on a damp towel. "Blood loss." Andrea drew in a sharp breath. "Not from the bullet." Hershel told her. "He's got an arrow in his side. It's not hitting any organs, but the wound is dirty. It needs to be cleaned out before it gets infected but it's not life-threatening."

Andrea let out an audible sigh of relief. "Good."

"What's happening?" Marnie tugged on Jordyn's hand.

"Daryl got hurt," Jordyn told her. "But he'll be okay."

"Really?" Marnie didn't seem convinced.

Lori jogged down the staircase just then, and looked between Jordyn and her sister. "Come on, sweetheart, I'll make you something to eat," Lori motioned for Marnie to follow her. "Carl's hungry, too."

Trading hands from Jordyn to Lori, Marnie happily went to get some food. With Andrea's help, Jordyn made her way upstairs. Hershel had put Daryl in the same room she had spent the last week or so in. Daryl looked... dead. He was dead. He looked dead. Of course he wasn't, he was breathing. But his skin...the blood around his mouth... It was easy for Jordyn to see why Andrea mistook him for a Walker. Jordyn wondered if she'd looked the same way when she'd first been laid in this bed.

"Do you think something happened to him out there?" Andrea asked as she let go of Jordyn, letting her make her own way to the couch by the window. "I mean, aside from the obvious?"

"What do you mean?"

Andrea looked to the door as if to make sure no one was nearby and then took a step closer to Jordyn. "When he came out of the forest he was wearing Walker ears around his neck." She explained. "And right up until we got to him we thought he was infected. I mean, he looked bad."

"He fell." Jordyn countered. "It hurts."

"Then why does he have blood on his mouth?" Andrea whispered.

"Maybe he bit his tongue or something," Jordyn pointed out. When she'd fallen, her shoulder had popped out. Accidentally biting her tongue seemed like a much more common side effect. "He's not infected. He'll be fine."

Andrea left Jordyn alone. The sight of dried blood smeared across Daryl's face became too disturbing, too much like he would wake up infected as Amy had done. Jordyn shuffled to the bathroom and found the bowl Lori had used to clean her skin, filled it with warm water, took a rag from beside the sink and made her way slowly back to Daryl.

The iron smell of his blood swirled in the air when Jordyn began to wipe his chin, but Jordyn still didn't see a wound on him. When she finished cleaning all the blood from his jaw, started on the spots of dry blood on Daryl's arms. As she cleaned, she noticed the tattoo on his right bicep. A black devil, wings spread wide. She'd noticed the ink before, but never seen the shape up close.

After seeing him without sleeves for so long, she knew that he had another tattoo covering the right side of his back. It was of two demons, or perhaps an angel and a demon, Jordyn was never close enough to be able to tell for sure. Whatever they were, they seemed to have been drawn as though they were fighting and endless battle. They were certainly more impressive than the one she had on her back between her shoulder blades.

"Jordie?" Marnie's voice squeaked from the doorway.

Snapped from her thoughts, Jordyn looked to her sister and had to smile. Marnie looked so tired, her hair was tousled all over the place and she could barely manage to keep her eyes open; she'd had this same weary expression since she was a baby and it always made Jordyn's heart melt. "Yeah, baby, what is it?"

"Will you read to me?" She dangled an old picture book in her hands and her teddy Elroy under her arm.

"Of course, you come sit here, I'll be right back." Jordyn kept the bowl of dirty water away from Marnie and went back to the bathroom. She washed out the bowl twice and then soaked the two rags she'd used in hot water. Scrubbing the blood from under her fingernails took more time, she didn't want to transfer any germs to her sister. Daryl's blood had crusted on her fingertips, she dug them into a bar of soap, caking her fingers in the lavender scented cleanser.

Finally satisfied she was sanitary enough, Jordyn went back to the bedroom and saw Marnie standing by Daryl's bedside watching him, poking at in devil tattoo with her forefinger. "Marnie, don't bother him." Jordyn told her. "He needs to rest.

Retracting her hand, Marnie hurried back and sat on the couch. "Is he going to wake up soon?"

"Yes." Jordyn settled beside her sister and cuddled her to her left side. "What book do you have?"

It was a faded yellow book of bedtime stories. Marnie chose _Rapunzel, _and was asleep before Jordyn had read through two pages.

"Jordie?"

The tone of her sister's voice made Jordyn sit up straight. As she looked at her baby sister, her heart stopped. Marnie's arms were covered in teeth marks and purple welts. "Marnie!" Jordyn sprang to her feet and grabbed Marnie by her shoulders. "Jesus, what happened?"

"My arms hurt." Marnie began crying. "Real bad."

Panic shot through Jordyn's body. "What happened?" She pushed up Marnie's sleeves and saw bites all over her arms, so many they overlapped, her skin was gray and cold. "Baby, what happened?" Marnie's ankles were scarred with seeping bites and her feet were so drained of blood they were marble white. "Marnie-" Her name caught in Jordyn's throat when she looked at her sister.

Her eyes were bloodshot and clouded. Red-tinged saliva ran down her chin from her frothing mouth as an angry smile spread across her face. Marnie let out a hungry screech and lunged for her sister's throat.

Gasping, Jordyn woke up clutching her shirt in her fists. "Marnie?" She called out, but her sister was right beside her sleeping against her thigh and using Elroy as a pillow. The book of bedtime stories was lying open on the couch. Still frantic, Jordyn carefully inspected Marnie's arms and legs; they were warm, clear and soft. No bites. No blemishes. Jordyn scrutinized every inch of her sister's skin twice, even the webbing between her fingers and toes before she let herself exhale.

"Mama?" Marnie stirred, curling herself up into a ball.

"It's okay," Jordyn brushed Marnie's fringe off her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

Too rattled from her dream, Jordyn got to her feet and made her way to the window. Daryl's crossbow was sitting on the chair by the door; Jordyn didn't recall it being there before. It occurred to her that she'd never really held a crossbow before. It looked complicated and fussy, but she doubted that Daryl would put up with a mediocre weapon.

It wasn't loaded but that was about as much as Jordyn could tell about the crossbow. Figuring she'd hold it like she used to her rifle, she reached for the grip.

"Don't touch that."

Jordyn almost yelped out when she heard Daryl's voice. Turning, she saw him staring at his crossbow and picking at the bandage on his head. "Hey," Jordyn was surprised at the relief in her voice. "Good, you're awake. You're not bitten, are you?"

"What?"

"Well," Jordyn made her way back to the couch where Marnie was still sleeping. "When they brought you in, they said you weren't bitten but you sure as hell looked like you were infected. And I've been here almost twenty-four hours straight waiting for you to die and... reanimate, or whatever."

"What did you plan on killing me with?

"I have your crossbow."

"You figured out how to shoot it?"

"Ah, no." Jordyn admitted, shifting Marnie's legs so she wouldn't fall off the couch. "I thought I'd just throw it at you and that might distract you long enough for me to run for the door."

Scratching at the bandage on his forehead, Daryl glanced over at Marnie, sleeping soundly, and then back up at Jordyn, silently asking her why she was still there.

"I wanted to thank you," Jordyn said, nodding down at her sister. "For helping me find her."

Daryl stared at a spot on the floor. "I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't'a done." He muttered.

Jordyn shook her head. "Shane would have told me to accept that Marnie was dead and Rick would have killed himself trying to find her on his own. But you... you helped _me_ find her." She bit her lower lip. "So... you're better than them." Daryl gave her a strange look; a blank look. Devoid of emotion, positive or negative. It was as neutral as she had ever seen him. "You are to me." She shrugged.

In response, he gave her another strange look, this one like she was speaking to him in a foreign language. But again, he didn't answer her.

Then, before he reverted back to his old self, before the drugs wore off, Jordyn leant over him and kissed his forehead. He flinched before her lips touched him, like he thought she was about to hit him, but he didn't push her away or voice a complaint. Making sure that Marnie was curled up and safe on the couch, Jordyn made her way out of the bedroom and left them both to rest.


	21. With Conviction

**Chapter 21: With Conviction**

Thunder bellowed on the horizon, echoing in Daryl's ears as he absentmindedly poked holes in the side of his tent. The Hershel house creeped him out and despite the Doc's suggestion that he stay in bed, Daryl was out of there as soon as he could get on his feet. His stitches were delicate and if he stood up or turned around too fast, he got dizzy, so he spent the bulk of his time flat on his back feeling useless.

Andrea stopped by, apologizing for shooting him and giving him a book to read, but she didn't stick around. After she left, Daryl started flipping through the chapters seeing if anything interesting caught his eye when over the edge of the book he saw a flash of honey-blonde hair through the mesh window of his tent. Daryl craned his neck to see who it was but then the flash moved right into view.

"Hi," Marnie said hovering by the tent flap door. A drawing on a piece of lined notebook paper dangled from her fingers.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the little girl. "What're you hangin' around here for?" He asked impatiently.

"I made this for you," Marnie held out the picture to him. "I made one for Andrea, too, but hers is in red." Marnie had drawn two faces on the paper in blue pen, the smaller face had swirls of curly hair and a big smile. "That's me," she pointed at the smaller face, and then the larger one. "And that's you, see?" Then she tapped her finger to a squiggly mess of lines that looked like a bunch of deformed stars. "And your arrows." Smiling, she held it out again and waited patiently for him to take it. "You won't tell Jordie I came to see you, right?"

"Why not?"

"She said not to bother you 'cause you got hurt, but I wanted to give you your picture." Despite her sister's apparent request, Marnie came fully into the tent and dropped her backpack at her feet. From the front pocket of her bag she pulled a lime green coloured bandaid. "This is the last green one, you can have it." She unpeeled the plastic and knelt down by Daryl's head, sticking the bandaid over the bandage covering the bullet graze on his left temple.

"Marnie?" Lori arrived outside the tent and extended her hand out to Marnie. "Daryl's gotta rest like your sister, honey. Why don't we go feed the chickens?"

Grabbing her backpack, Marnie eagerly took Lori's hand and went with her, yammering about names she wanted to give the farm birds. Daryl tossed his picture aside and went back to scanning through the boring book but then, thinking better of it, he picked up the drawing and folded it and tucked it into the book's front cover.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Daryl was so restless from being on his back all day he got up to count and clean his arrows. He hadn't had a chance to do it since his injury and he enjoyed the monotony of that particular busywork. Using one of Dale's fold out chairs as a table for his arrows, Daryl stayed on his feet to clean each one with the same red rag he always used. He was inspecting each tip to see if any needed to be sharpened when he heard someone calling his name.<p>

"Daryl!" A voice whispered loudly.

Glancing up from his cleaning, Daryl spied Jordyn on the porch gesturing urgently at him. Abandoning his arrows, Daryl trudged towards her. Pain throbbed in his side from his puncture wound with each heavy step he took but he clenched his jaw and walked through it. It'd take more than a bad fall on one of his own arrows to slow him down.

When Daryl got to Jordyn, she was leaning against the porch spinning the walking stick he'd collected for her in her fingers. "Look," she said when Daryl arrived, pointing something out to him with her walking stick. "Weird, right?"

Daryl looked and immediately saw them. Under a tree a few feet from the porch steps were two racoons. One was dead, the other one was chewing at its carcass. Jordyn's eyes were wide and she was smiling again as though holding in a laugh. Curiosity bubbled in Daryl's mind, why was she telling _him_ about this of all people? Did she think they were friends or something? Her smile seemed to say so and suddenly it occurred to Daryl that he noticed her smiling now. He hadn't ever seen her face that calm, or her eyes that bright. He figured she didn't really have reason to smile before. Now she had Marnie back and the shadows that clouded her eyes had lifted. Now, she had reason to smile.

"It's stuff like that that makes me think your chupacabra is real." Jordyn was saying, using her walking stick to balance while she sat up on the porch rail. "Well, the racoons and the dead running around..."

Now, Daryl smiled. As much of one as he could muster, which really wasn't much of anything. It didn't matter; Jordyn didn't see, she was still looking at the raccoons. All those weeks ago when Daryl had told the camp about what he'd seen, which he was still positive was a chupacabra, no one had believed him. Not even Merle, he'd just and lit a cigarette and chucked his brother a warm beer. But apparently Jordyn believed him, she must have if she knew about it.

Thinking back, Daryl couldn't even place Jordyn at the camp that night he'd brought up the chupacabra. But there had been more of them at first, the survivors. And from what Daryl could recall, back then Jordyn didn't speak. Not at first. He remembered that clearly, because up until the moment she'd first spoken to him, almost a week after he told his chupacabra story, he had thought she was crazy.

* * *

><p>Cursing, Daryl slammed the door of Merle's truck and went in search of his brother. Of all the things to lose, he lost an arrow. His supply of them was limited as it was, and one was missing. He'd counted them before he and Merle went hunting - he'd had twelve. He counted again when they were loading up the truck to come back to camp and he still had twelve. That was less than two hours ago, and in that time he'd lost one.<p>

Still spitting curses under his breath, Daryl approached the main campfire where the handful of kids in their group were playing a game with their mothers' nearby. Merle wasn't sitting by the fire, which was normally where Daryl found him in the evening. Instead he saw one of the mothers, the brunette with the little boy, and beside her a girl he didn't know anything about. "Merle?" He called out, checking the boxes of canned food near the fire. "If you stole from me, bro, I'll kill you."

"What are you looking for?" The brunette mother asked. Lori, that was her name.

"An arrow, I-" Daryl said, but before he could finish, Lori was up on her feet.

"Carl!" She snapped. "Don't go into the forest!" Lori stalked over to the children to scold her son who was looking at his feet as he wandered back into the camp away from the tree line.

Kicking a rock aside, Daryl figured he'd rip the seat out of Merle's truck if he had to. He couldn't afford to get lazy with his arrows. Every single one was valuable, too valuable to have simply misplaced. "God_damn_ it..."

"It's there." The voice came from the girl by the fire. She wasn't looking at him, but she was pointing to a pile of bags, underneath which was his missing arrow.

Daryl kept glancing at her as he shifted the bags. His arrow was tangled in the strap of the duffle that Merle carried food in when they went hunting. After checking twice that the arrow was still usable, Daryl took another look at the girl. Up until now he had been sure she was retarded in some way. He'd never heard her speak. He'd never seen her angry, or sad, or delirious which seemed to be the choice of states that the other survivors were in, but this girl was like a shadow. Silent and unassuming.

Sitting before him he noticed she held a black rifle in her lap and she was etching something in the handle with a penknife. Daryl hadn't seen her shoot, he hadn't seen her cook, he hadn't heard her complain. He wasn't even sure of her name. The most he knew about her was that she spent most of her time stuck to Lori's side.

"Where'd you get that?" He nodded at the rifle.

Her pale face turned to him, the corners of her lips dipped down. Her eyes were dull and bloodshot and she blinked too slowly as though she hadn't had enough sleep. Without answering him, she looked from his crossbow to his eyes, and then back to her rifle.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." Aggravation boiled through Daryl's veins, she could clearly hear him.

"Please go away, Daryl." The intensity of her voice didn't show on her face, which remained still and lifeless, but her request was cold as ice.

Sneering, Daryl got to his feet and stormed back to his truck. Spitting some grit from his mouth, he stole another quick look at her over his shoulder. It was as though their interaction had never happened, she showed no sign that anything had disrupted her day. He wondered how she knew his name when he had no idea of hers; he wondered how she got the rifle and if she could shoot it, but mostly he wondered what the hell was wrong with her.

* * *

><p>On the porch; Jordyn was still talking, which struck Daryl as so strange when he thought about how quiet she had been when their group first formed. He realized that he liked hearing her speak, and he knew why. Her smile came through in her voice, he could <em>hear<em> her happiness. Or maybe he was just hearing what wasn't there anymore, that monotonous voice she'd had when they'd been driving on their search for Marnie when Jordyn was staring off into the distance. It was like she would revert back to that strange, silent girl by the fire all over again.

He wondered what would change in him if Merle came back, or rather what was missing without his brother being there. Jordyn had called him better. Better than Rick or Shane for what he'd done for her and he hadn't been sure what that was. And then he understood that what he had done for her wasn't something she could describe, but it was something Daryl could see.

"Thank you again for my stick," Jordyn said. "Marnie scribbled my name on it." She showed him the side of her stick with her name spelled out in wonky letters with black marker.

"You got a weird name." Daryl stated, it was a thought he'd had a few times.

"It was my father's name." Jordyn offered. "He died when I was a baby."

"How?"

Jordyn opened her mouth to answer him, but then smirked and shook her head. "You'll laugh." She twirled the stick between her fingers.

Daryl didn't answer her, because he was quite sure he wouldn't laugh. Nothing really made him laugh. Killing Walkers came close...

"He overdosed." Jordyn muttered under her breath, watching as the raccoon that had been feasting on its friend finished up and scampered into a tree.

Shifting from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with her admission, Daryl didn't say anything. He understood why she was uneasy about admitting that to him. Her mother and step-father had done the same thing and so had Jordyn after she'd found her parents dead. Was it a family trait, suicide? Certainly was passed down to Jordyn. Again, he had no idea why she was telling him this. Purely because he asked? One thing he knew about her was that she was not free and loose with personal information, most of the stuff Daryl knew about her he had found out himself.

"It was different with my father." Even Jordyn seemed to think that was a lame excuse and rolled her eyes at her own words. "They were teenagers when they had me and my father was just a kid. Sixteen, I think. Took too much speed and never woke up." Sighing, she manoeuvred herself off the railing and back onto her feet. "Kinda fits with the world now, doesn't it?" Jordyn sighed. "Dark, random ugliness..."

Her walking was better, Daryl noticed she didn't rely on her walking stick as much as he had when he'd first given it to her, but she was still slow to move. He didn't help her, though, she wouldn't get better if people kept babying her.

"Hey, Daryl?" Jordyn turned to face him, looking uneasy. "Don't tell anyone I told you about my father, okay?" Her eyes seemed desperate. "I'd rather people not know..."

He figured he knew why, who wanted a bunch of strangers to know that your whole family had offed themselves? Nodding as a reply, he saw some of the worry leave Jordyn's eyes.

"Thanks." With that she turned and limped back into the farm house.

Daryl abruptly cleared off the porch and went back to his arrows, curious as to why she was being nice to him. She had her sister and she was still alive, so what did she want?

* * *

><p>"Shit, shit, shit," Jordyn drew back when she pulled the trigger, and again the arrow fell at her feet. "This sucks, and I hate it."<p>

"You keep moving," Daryl loaded another arrow into his crossbow and handed his weapon back to her. "You flinch and you'll miss every time."

Making a frustrated noise in her throat, Jordyn realigned the crossbow on the fence post it was resting on. The target Daryl had set up was about fifteen feet in front of her: a barrel sitting on a bale of hay. In the past hour, she hadn't hit it once. "I hate this," she repeated. "And no, I don't think this is easier than riding a horse."

When Hershel had checked over Jordyn's healing rib that afternoon, he'd overheard her reminding Daryl that he was going to teach her to ride a horse and Hershel immediately put a stop to it. The doctor told her that aside from the fact that her arm was not yet strong enough to hang onto the reigns should the animal break into a gallop, if she fell she would definitely break her rib again. So, as a compromise, Daryl agreed to teach her to shoot his crossbow which he claimed would be much simpler.

It turned out to be as frustrating for Jordyn to learn as it was for Daryl to teach. Apparently she had taken to her rifle quite easily, but with a whole new weapon she wasn't confident. She could get it in position with the target lined up through the sight and steady hands, but when it came to shooting she lost it all. The only arrow that had actually fired landed directly beside her feet when she'd had the crossbow at her side and accidentally pulled back on the trigger. The arrow had shot straight into the dirt.

"Try it again," Daryl stood back from her. "And don't flinch." Taking a deep breath, Jordyn rolled back her shoulders and shook her hair over her back.

It was a rare occasion that Daryl saw her hair out of the tight braid or secure ponytail she normally wore. He'd always thought her hair was black, but in the afternoon sunlight he could see that it was a deep coffee-colour. He wondered why she didn't wear it down more.

Jordyn took another breath, pressed her eye to the sight and made sure the barrel was lined up. Then, she fired. And the arrow actually flew. It didn't reach the target, but it did stick into the ground like a tiny javelin. Still, Jordyn wasn't happy. "Oh, come on!" She groaned. "It's not _that_ far away, I could spit and hit it."

The amusing thought made him smirk, as did her next attempt at firing which was as successful as all her others. Her main problem was securing the arrow in the right position to be able to pull back and get enough force behind it to send out a fatal shot, but she also couldn't seem to stop flinching at the last second. Daryl figured they were rookie mistakes; of all weapons a crossbow was definitely one of the easier ones to operate.

"I've seen you shoot a Walker through the head without even looking," Jordyn said as she delicately reloaded the crossbow. "How long 'til I can do that?"

"Don't hold your breath." Daryl replied, noticing the rapidly setting sun. "Be outta light soon," he reached for his weapon. "And you won't shoot any better in the dark."

"One more," Jordyn was already hunching down over the crossbow to peer through the sight. "Come on," She mumbled under her breath. Then she exhaled and pulled on the trigger. Again, the arrow flew. And this time it did hit the target. It bounced right off it and fell into the grass, but Jordyn was thrilled that she'd actually made the distance. "Yes, I got one!"

Daryl looked from the bad shot back to Jordyn. "It should have stayed stuck." He pointed out as he went to retrieve the arrow.

Jordyn looked annoyed. "Shut up, I got one." She beamed and grabbed her walking stick from where it was leaning up against the fence post. "I'd give you a hug but I sense you don't want me to do that again."

Gathering up his arrows, Daryl glanced up at her without a clue how to reply, or how to say she could hug him again and he wouldn't mind. But it didn't seem like she wanted to anyway, she wasn't even looking at him anymore. Their last hug had been under an immensely different circumstance. The discovery of her parents' bodies had sent her to overdose on Merle's pills and before she'd done that, she'd requested one thing from Daryl: a hug. Back then he'd thought it was so strange, but then he had also thought _she_ was so strange.

As they gathered all their stuff and turned to head back to camp, Daryl thought that he liked her being strange. Strange was interesting, and definitely fitting of the "new" world.

"Ow," Jordyn suddenly froze mid-step and grabbed Daryl's shoulder. "Cramp."

Stopping on the spot, Daryl just let her hang on to him until the pain passed. While she breathed through the spasm and massaged her calf, she slightly stooped over and leant against Daryl. And for some reason, he thought of their hug again. It had been awkward and strange and came out of the blue, just like now. But, of course it wasn't a hug.

Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Jordyn tilted her head to the side so she could make eye contact with him. "Why do I get cramps and a walking stick and you get to wander around like you _didn't_ fall on your own arrow?"

"Luck?" Daryl shrugged. He hadn't intended it to be remotely funny, but Jordyn smiled anyway.

"Your hair's getting darker," She moved her hand up from his shoulder to just behind his ear and tugged at some of his hair. "I thought being out in the sun so much would make it lighter, but yours is darker..."

Again, Daryl was at a loss of what to say. Her fingers grazed the side of his neck as she pulled her hand away, and her touch gave him an unexpected jolt of energy through his veins. And as she tested her leg and realized she could continue walking unaided, Daryl found himself wishing she could have taken just a little more time to rest. A little more time to stand there with him.

The random reaction Daryl had to Jordyn faded as the night closed in, however they did eat together. Marnie had helped Carol and Lori cook and was thrilled to be able to serve her food around the survivors and she'd joined Daryl and Jordyn with her bowl of soup while they were discussing how to get Jordyn's accuracy better, or at least present, when it came to shooting arrows.

But their calm, fun night was ruined by Glenn, who rose nervously to his feet after dinner and announced with great worry that there were Walkers in the barn.


	22. Between Angels And Insects

**Chapter 22: Between Angels And Insects**

Having Walkers in the barn turned out to be even more complicated a problem than the group originally thought. Shane wanted them destroyed; Rick wanted to talk to Hershel about it first and that brought up the issue of how much longer they were welcome to stay on the Greene farm. As far as Shane was concerned, they could leave as soon as possible. Carol refused, and Daryl argued to the point of swapping insults and shoves with Shane. The two had to be pulled apart and it took Rick, Lori, Andrea and Glenn to do so.

Thankfully, Marnie didn't see the fighting. Jordyn was walking her away from the scuffle when she'd turned back and saw Daryl trying to get his fists into Shane while being held back by Rick. To keep her occupied, Jordyn took Marnie to a tire swing hanging in one of the trees near Dales' camper. Her younger sister wasn't too excited about swinging, but she climbed into the tire anyway.

"The monsters are in the barn, aren't they?" Marnie asked as Jordyn nudged her gently in the tire swing, the little girl didn't like going too high.

"Yeah, they are," Jordyn muttered, looking over to the dwindling group of her friends standing by the barn doors. Shane was left alone stalking around the edges of the barn, looking inside the cracks in the panels every few feet. "But they're stuck in there, they can't get out." Even Jordyn couldn't hear any confidence in her voice.

The whole situation made Jordyn's skin crawl and her mind kept telling her how easy it would have been for Marnie to play near the barn with no knowledge of what was inside. After all, she went with Lori to feed the chickens and Dale to look at the horses in the stable. She could just have easily gone to the barn to see if there were animals in there. Animals being the operative word.

"Hey," Lori said with a terse smile as she came over to the swing. "He still at it, huh?" Her eyes lingered on Shane, circling the barn like a hunting lion.

"Yeah..." Jordyn watched him, too, until something over Lori's shoulder caught her eye. Daryl, steaming in anger, limping from the horse stables. He was holding his side, his injured side, and clearly having trouble walking but trying not to show it.

"What?" Lori noticed Jordyn's diverted gaze and turned her head. "Bet he burst his stiches," she said shaking her head. "Rick would do the same thing and not say a word." Marnie, done with swinging, reached for Lori to help her down. "Hey, Missy," she said taking her hand. "Why don't we see if Dale's got anything for dinner?" Quietly to Jordyn, she added, "Don't think the Greene's want us in their kitchen right now."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec," Jordyn flicked her eyes to Daryl, and Lori nodded.

Grabbing her walking stick from where it rested on the tree the tire swing dangled from, Jordyn approached Daryl. The first thing she saw was the wet, red stain on his torn shirt. "You're bleeding." She said, leaning her walking stick against her thigh and snatching the rag from Daryl's belt to press against his wound. He flinched when she touched him, but the only expression on his face was anger. From behind them, Jordyn saw Carol leaving the stables hugging herself around her waist. "What happened?"

"That _bitch_," Daryl spat, grimacing as Jordyn put pressure on his wound.

She assumed he meant Carol, from the manner they had both exited the barn. And Carol clearly had not been a bitch, but must have said something to bother Daryl. Something he didn't like. Olivia had called it a male response when Jordyn was growing up; told her that every guy had that impulsive reaction in him somewhere. "My mum tells me that when a guy calls a woman a bitch, it's usually because she's doing something right," she widened her eyes at Daryl. "What did she say?"

"She told me not to go out lookin' for Sophia," he winced. "Wants me to _rest_." He said it as though it were acid on his tongue.

"Well... she doesn't want you to hurt yourself. Again." Jordyn pulled back the rag and was happy not to see more blood. "Worse. I don't either, by the way."

He froze, making Jordyn lock eyes with him, worried she'd hurt something else. But he just looked furious, a storm brewing in his eyes, and he pushed her hands away. "_You_," he snarled tossing the bloodied rag at her feet. "You leave me be." He held her gaze with a nasty stare as he shoved past her.

Watching him leave, Jordyn rolled her eyes. She had been expecting this. It was only a matter of time before he treated her that way again.

* * *

><p>Sleep was impossible for Jordyn, made worse by Amy who wanted to chat to her all night. She was a perfectly sweet and friendly girl, but Jordyn didn't want to speak to anyone. Her head was constantly heavy, she felt like she'd socked herself with the same hammer she'd used to kill her infected little brother.<p>

After another sleepless night, Jordyn sat by Lori next to the fire. Lori was easy to sit with; she wouldn't ask Jordyn questions or force her to do anything. From the way her little boy spoke, Jordyn knew Lori had lost her husband sometime before this mess. Jordyn had overheard Lori tell her son that at least his father slept through all this Hell. Giving Lori the same respect she had given her, Jordyn didn't ask questions.

In her lap Lori held a bowl between her knees and was peeling a red apple with ease. Jordyn, on the other hand, was still silently marvelling over her new rifle. Shane had given it to her, promised to teach her to shoot in days to come. Some sort of excitement made its way into her mind, but memories of Connor and worries of her missing parents and sister squashed them almost immediately.

With a penknife she'd found in Dale's over-stocked camper, Jordyn was scratching letters into the handle of her rifle. At first, she just did it to see if she could make a dent in the metal, but she soon saw her little brother's name forming in very small, fragmented letters before her eyes.

A grunt made caught Jordyn's ears, in her periphery she saw a man she knew only by face stomping up to them, tossing aside some of the bags that Lori had piled with one of the other women. The sweet woman with a sweet daughter...

"What are you looking for?" Lori asked him, sitting her bowl of apple on the log beside her.

"An arrow, I-" Daryl started to say, but Lori was already up on her feet.

"Carl!" Lori snapped. "Don't go into the forest!" Lori stalked over to the children to scold her son who was looking at his feet as he wandered back into the camp away from the tree line.

Jordyn could see the arrow, it was caught in the strap of one of the bags. He'd find it if he kept looking, but of course he stopped.

"God_damn_ it..." He kept swearing and gruffly kicked a bag aside.

"It's there." Jordyn muttered, pointing. If he had his arrow, maybe he'd go away and leave her - and the bags - be.

Silently, he retrieved his arrow. But he didn't leave right away. "Where'd you get that?" He nodded at her rifle.

Without answering, Jordyn just looked up at him and turned away. In her recent experience, the less she spoke, the more she was left alone.

"Hey," he kept berating her. "I'm talking to you."

Daryl, that's his name. Daryl Dixon. Merle Dixon was his brother, a loudmouth racist brute no one liked. They had made an impression on the camp, both very rough, intimidating, dirty looking men who seemed to enjoy intimidating everyone. And all Jordyn wanted was to be left alone. "Please go away, Daryl." She said as firmly as she could.

The look he gave her was one she received from most people around here, a look that said that he would have no trouble avoiding her. _Good_.

* * *

><p>Searching through the back of Merle's truck was like Christmas for Marnie. It was the first time since Jordyn had arrived at camp that she was able to take a look at all the things she, Andrea and Daryl had collected on their trip to find Marnie. The food, water and medicine was already in use at the camp, but everything else was waiting to be sorted through.<p>

Marnie was an eager helper and waded through the back of the truck handing Jordyn things she thought were important, which were all things that she recognized from Jordyn's apartment. Marnie was especially excited to find a couple of cans of powdered milk; she'd politely been drinking the milk the Greene's offered her but Jordyn knew her sister wanted the powdered stuff. Marnie wasn't really a picky eater, but she had her quirks. Milk was one of them.

Jordyn was inspecting the cans of powdered milk to make sure the rain hadn't seeped in when a nasty growl Jordyn realized she hadn't heard in a long time groaned along the wind.

Walkers.

Looking towards the barn, Jordyn's heart stopped. There were Walkers, alright. Two of them. A man and a woman. But they weren't alone. They were being led on two snare poles by Rick and Hershel.

"Jordy!" Marnie, seeing the Walkers, climbed from the back of the truck into her sister's arms making Jordyn's knees buckle and her right side burned in protest.

With Marnie clinging to her left hip, Jordyn made her way towards the back of the group, all of her friends were edging closer to the barn where it looked as though Rick, of all things, was _helping _Hershel round up the infected.

"What the hell, Rick?" Shane was screaming, circling Rick and the Walkers. "You kiddin' me?"

"Daryl?" Jordyn called out, he looked at her and held out his hand for her to stay back.

"Let's go, Jordy, we have to go," Marnie was saying over and over into her sister's shoulder.

"Shane, back off!" Rick ordered his partner.

"You see?" Shane yelled at the group. "See what they're holding onto?"

"I see _who_ I'm holding onto!" Hershel roared back.

"These things ain't sick!" Shane bellowed. "They ain't people! They're dead! They don't feel nothin'! They kill!" He directed his yells at Andrea. "They're the things that killed Amy!" He sought Jordyn out in the crowd and pointed at her. "Killed your little brother! They're gonna kill all of us-!"

Marnie wailed louder into Jordyn's shoulder, squeezing her tight. Jordyn's heart ached, because she knew Shane was right. These people weren't people. They were things, nothing was human inside them. Nothing had been human inside Connor when he'd tried to kill her. He wasn't Connor; he wasn't human. And knowing that, Jordyn had killed him.

"Shane, stop!" Rick was struggling to keep his grip on his snare pole. The male Walker he was leading had his eyes on Shane and kept lunging for him.

"Hey Hershel, man, lemme ask you something," Shane pulled his gun from his waistband. "Could a living, breathing person walk through this?" He casually aimed his gun at the female Walker and shot her three times. She didn't fall, she just snarled louder. "That's three rounds in the chest! Could somebody whose alive take that?"

"Stop it!" Rick ordered again.

"Why's it still comin'?" Shane aimed his gun again, this time directly at the Walker's chest, firing twice. "That's it's heart! And lung! Why's it still coming?" He fired three more bullets, and still the Walker kept groping for him.

"Shane, that's enough!" Rick hollered.

"Yeah, you're right," Shane marched towards the female Walker. "That is enough." Pressing his pistol between her eyes, he fired the bullet straight through her brain, and she collapsed at Hershel's' feet.

Time slowed down for a moment. Hershel let go of the pole and watched the body crumple beneath him, falling to his knees right beside her. His beliefs shone on his face; he believed Shane had just killed a living, breathing person. A sick person, but a person nonetheless.

"Enough!" Shane screamed at the group. "Enough risking our lives for a little girl whose gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are tryin' to kill us! Enough!" He stared down his partner. "Rick, it ain't like it was before!" His voice broke he was screaming so loud. "Now if y'all wanna live? Y'all wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here!" He backed away towards the barn. "Right now!"

"Shane!" Rick tried again, but Shane was as good as deaf to the world.

Grabbing a pickaxe from the side of the barn, Shane started hacking at the lock keeping the Walkers in. Inside the barn, they heard the commotion. They heard the screams, and the Walkers were restless. They were throwing themselves at the barn walls, snarling and moaning in hunger.

"Hershel, take the snare pole!" Rick was yelling at the doctor, but Hershel made no motion that he could hear him. He looked like he wanted to collapse right there beside the Walkers body still tangled in the snare pole.

"Shane!" Rick's voice was even more urgent. Desperate. "Do _not_ do this, brother! Please!"

"Don't!" Glenn echoed, watching a tearful Maggie wrap her arms around her father and fall beside him.

"Rick!" Lori screamed, her hands tightening around Carl whom she was shielding behind her body.

With a crack, the barn door opened, and the Walkers busted their way out into the sunlight, reaching out in front of them.

"Please!" Rick tried one final, useless time. "Shane!"

In response to Rick, Shane turned and fired a bullet through the Walker Rick was still leading, giving Rick nothing else to do but stand and watch as Andrea, T-Dog, Daryl and Glenn lined up to take on the Walkers that spilled from the barn.

Down, down, down, the Walkers kept falling. None of them made it a few feet out of the barn before a bullet or two ended their non-existence. Maggie was crying, clutching her father who was so visibly shattered he couldn't move.

Then the guns stopped firing. The Walkers stopped falling. And there was silence. Even Marnie was quiet, though she wouldn't let go of her sister. Jordyn struggled to keep Marnie on her hip and had to set her down but Marnie wouldn't let her stand back up so they just sat there together, in the dirt, embracing in the middle of this graveyard.

And then another growl rumbled from the barn.

Another Walker stepped out into the sun. And this one broke everybody's heart.

Messy blonde hair dusting her shoulders, her skin grey and almost translucent, and a gaping hole bitten into her neck. Sweet, innocent Sophia. Infected. Dead, and walking.

**xxx**


	23. You Can't Win

**Chapter 23: You Can't Win**

A cry of only agony bellowed from Carol as she sprinted towards her daughter. Daryl grabbed her and held her back, sinking to the ground as Carol's cries became heartbroken sobs. And she wasn't the only one in tears. Everyone was effected by the sight of one of them and such a sweet, beautiful, innocent one, had been tainted by the way the world had changed.

In Sophia's lifeless eyes, Jordyn saw her brother. Saw that same look she'd seen before she'd been forced to kill Connor, that same emptiness. Everything that he was - his smile, his laugh, the way he rubbed his eyes when he was tired; it was all gone. Replaced by that darkness, that germ that spread so rapidly and tore everything away.

Marnie cried fearful tears into her sister's shoulder, and Jordyn held her head away from the view of the massacre. Grunting, Jordyn got to her feet and lifted Marnie onto her left shoulder. Her rib stung her right side protest, but with the strength in Marnie's wails, Jordyn knew she wouldn't be able to calm her down and simply lead her away.

"I wanna go home!" Marnie coughed so hard she sputtered.

Jordyn had no new soothing words for her, nothing she hadn't said a thousand times. In her heart Jordyn knew what her sister wanted because it was what she wanted herself. Their mother. But all they had was each other, and Marnie was too young to understand that even that was a gift. She was just a little girl who wanted her mother.

In the back of Dale's camper, Jordyn laid with her sister and let her cry and demand to go home. She'd always been a big screamer, even as a baby. Olivia wasn't a fan of leaving a small child to cry, instead she would lie with her daughter and just wait until she quieted down. Jordyn tried the same tactic and eventually Marnie's cries lowered to whimpers. Then she was just silent, sucking her thumb and cradled to Jordyn's body.

"That was Sophia, wasn't it?" Marnie mumbled.

"Yeah, it was," Jordyn said, staring out the camper window where everyone was still lingering by the barn. Everyone but Hershel, who had to be led away in the arms of his family towards their home. Shane, visibly furious even through a window, followed the Greene's with Rick trying to calm him down. Part of Jordyn wanted to know what they were arguing about, the other part didn't care.

"And that's what happened to Connor."

"Yeah," Jordyn bit down on her lip as she straightened out the creases in Marnie's dress over and over. Out the window, she could see Glenn and T-Dog digging graves, and Andrea wading through the Walker bodies covering certain ones with blankets, the ones that were family members of the Greene's. Sophia. "He got sick." That was the extent of what she intended to tell her sister about Connor.

"And Mama and Daddy got sick, too?"

Sick, yes. Turned into Walkers, no. But it had to have been a sickness, a niggle of a disease, that had caused Olivia and Michael to end their lives before the infection claimed them. But again, Jordyn wouldn't tell this to her sister. "Yeah," Jordyn threaded her fingers through Marnie's hair and pressed her lips to her temple. "They got sick, too."

The door to the camper opened and in walked Carol. Her face was streaked with tears, but her expression was blank. She sat at the table and stared out the window at nothing. If she noticed Jordyn and Marnie, she didn't say anything. Daryl joined them soon after. He nodded to Jordyn, and then sat up on the countertop, also saying nothing.

Tired from crying, Marnie fell asleep and rolled away from Jordyn, so she rose off the bed and edged down the hall to leave her sister to sleep. She wanted to say something to Carol, but she didn't know what. Nothing she could say would help. Sitting across from Carol, Jordyn held her hands in her lap and wrung her hands together, thinking, and not finding a word to say.

Not a word was spoken amongst the three of them, until Lori came to the camper door and announced they were almost ready for the funeral. But Carol just seemed emotionally spent, and could hardly keep her eyes open

"Come on," Lori urged Carol.

Sighing, Carol turned to her. "Why?"

"That's your little girl." Daryl said.

Very slowly, Carol shook her head. "That's not my little girl," she whispered. "It's some other..._thing_. My Sophia was alone in the woods, all this time I thought," Carol's voice caught in her throat. "She didn't cry herself to sleep, she didn't go hungry, she didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago." And she nodded, affirming the statement with herself. Realizing she had been mourning her daughter for much longer than she'd thought.

Lori left without a word, and then Daryl trailed behind her. Marnie hadn't met Sophia but Jordyn still felt it would help her to say goodbye, so she went to rouse her sister.

Normally Jordyn tended to just let Marnie sleep where she laid her head, something was always waking her whether it be a gunshot, car engine or screams from an argument. But she never left her alone and everyone was going to be at the funeral so that meant Marnie, too.

"Marnie, time to wake up." Jordyn sat by her sister and hoped the disturbance of her on the mattress would wake her, but Marnie stayed huddled under her blanket. "Hey, Baby Girl," Jordyn nudged her shoulder. "Come on," Grumbling, Marnie curled herself tighter into a ball. Brushing her hair from her eyes, Jordyn's palm rested on Marnie's forehead. It was warm, probably from being in the stuffy camper for too long.

"I have to?" Marnie mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes, come on," Jordyn helped her out of her blankets, took her hand and they silently filed past Carol to head back outside.

Jordyn had heard people found funerals a relief, a needed step in the grieving process or something. But burying her parents hadn't helped her, it had just seemed like the right thing to do. Daryl had offered to dig the grave, Andrea urged her to say goodbye, but Jordyn didn't feel any sense of relief. Perhaps it was this world, this hellish earth where the dead didn't stay that way.

Everyone gathered together around the newly filled graves. Hershel was burying his wife, Annette, and his step-son, Shawn. The doctor had retreated into his home and dressed in a smart suit and tie. He stood mournfully by the graves with Maggie, Patricia and Beth surrounding him.

The funeral was quiet and simple. Carol didn't emerge from the camper, so Jordyn felt as though she was standing in her place beside Sophia's small grave. A single flower sat on top of it, a Cherokee Rose. Carol had told Jordyn that Daryl gave it to her when he was out looking for her daughter; he had thought the rose was a sign she was still alive.

Marnie clung to Jordyn's hand and kept leaning against her thigh, looking around at the crowd of mourners who slowly filed away. Jordyn could tell she wanted to ask questions, but everyone was quiet so she felt she shouldn't. Intuitive: that's what Olivia had always said about Marnie. She was intuitive.

Jordyn felt another hand slide into her free palm, and Andrea was beside her smiling tearfully down at Sophia's grave. Jordyn's eyes drifted to the horizon, the sun sinking in the sky casting a comforting glow over the green land. It was calm, almost serene. But it didn't last. That night everything changed.

* * *

><p>By the time the sun set, Marnie was sick and Jordyn was frantic.<p>

It had started after Jordyn took her sister in the house for a bath. There was a rash on Marnie's back. At first Jordyn thought it was just from the itchy blankets, or running around in the tall grass for too long, but by the time Jordyn was towelling her sister dry the rash had spread down her back almost in line with her spine.

Her fever hadn't gone away and now her forehead was definitely hot and not just slightly warm. Marnie also had chills, she shivered as Jordyn wrapped her in two sets of pyjamas. They were downstairs in the Greene's living room. With the tension surrounding the killings of Hershel's family in the barn, Jordyn decided to keep as much out of their way as possible. She didn't ask for help and brought in blankets from Dale's camper to set Marnie up on the sofa. Jordyn hoped if they stayed out of the way, they'd let her stay in the house with her sister.

All Jordyn could think of was every other time in her life that Marnie had been ill. It had always been a stressful experience on the whole family. Marnie was a premature baby, and as a result her immune system wasn't as strong as other children her age. A simple cough or sneeze turned into a flu almost overnight. There wasn't a cold, flu, or upset stomach that Jordyn could remember Marnie having that their mother hadn't taken her to the doctor for, just in case. That's what she always said, "just in case."

Of all the things Jordyn couldn't give her sister: safety, her mother, her family, a secure future, the one thing she could give her was a doctor. With Marnie sitting up on the couch and flipping through a picture book, Jordyn headed to the kitchen to get her some water and look for Hershel and instead ran straight into Rick.

"Hey, there you are," Rick peered over her shoulder and saw Marnie huddled up on the couch. "You seen Hershel?"

"No, but I need him." Jordyn said, lowering her voice. "Marnie's sick."

Rick tilted his head to the side. "Sick?"

"She has a rash, and a fever," Jordyn said quietly. "I had trouble waking her up from her nap; she's sick."

Rick didn't seem too concerned. "Probably just a cold," he said with a comforting smile. "All those places she was at before you found her? She must have just picked something up." He patted her shoulder and turned to walk down the hall.

"She was premature." Jordyn blurted out, yanking him back by his forearm. "Six weeks. She spent a fortnight in an incubator." Her throat stung with the effort of keeping her voice to a whisper, she wanted so badly to scream out loud. But she wouldn't let Marnie hear her worry. "Every time she's been sick it's always been worse than for a normal kid. She got a stomach flu and wound up in hospital for dehydration. A cold went around her class and she was bedridden for a week. She had to be isolated when she got chicken pox; her immune system is weak."

Pulling her aside, Rick tried to keep her calm. "Jordyn, don't start overreacting here-"

"Overreacting? She's sick!" Jordyn hissed, annoyed he was so composed. "Half of the colds she's had have turned into some form of pneumonia and that's _with_ doctors and medicine."

"We can take care of her." Rick held Jordyn's shoulder's to keep her still. "She just needs rest and she'll be fine. Hershel saved Carl from a gunshot, you from a bad fall, he can help Marnie through a cold."

"But you just said he's not here!" Jordyn reminded him, anxiety pulsing through her veins. "He's not here and she's getting worse."

"What's going on?" Glenn and Maggie arrived in the doorway but stayed put, clearly sensing the tension in the hall.

"Marnie's sick." Jordyn told them.

"Her, too?" Maggie said. "Beth," she added when she saw Jordyn's puzzled face. "She fainted. I think she's in shock, she looks catatonic. But she needs my father." She turned to Rick. "No sign of him?"

As Rick shook his head, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. "Found this in the Doc's bedroom," Shane tossed a flask to Rick. "Looks like he found a way to cope."

"My grandfather gave that to him before he died," Maggie said, concerned, taking the flask from Shane. "But he gave up drinking the day I was born, he wouldn't even allow it in the house."

His face scrunched up in thought, Rick turned to Maggie. "What's the bar in town?"

"Hatlands." Maggie replied. "My stepmother said he practically lived there in his drinking days."

Nodding, Rick looked to Shane. "Then that's where I'll find him."

"I've seen the place," Glenn piped up. "I'll take you."

"I'm coming, too." Jordyn said.

"No," Rick patted her shoulder. "You're still not a hundred percent."

"None of us are a hundred percent," Jordyn pointed out bitterly. "My sister is sick and I am not just gonna sit here and wait, _hoping_ that you bring Hershel back." Fear for Marnie spurred her confidence. "I'm going to get him and bring him back here." She turned to Glenn. "You said there's a pharmacy? Maybe if I look at what's there I'll recognize the names of what she's had before."

"_Maybe_?" Shane repeated with a humourless laugh. "You'll risk your life for a maybe?"

Locking eyes with him, Jordyn felt herself sneer. "I'll risk my life for my sister," she corrected him. "I'm going."

* * *

><p>He had his bike, his brother's truck, his crossbow; he had everything he'd need to just pack up and leave. But he didn't. Daryl set up his own miniature camp on the edge of the forest, decorating the trees with squirrel skins and Walker ears. Something about being that close to the trees made him feel better. Maybe it was that, if he wanted to, he could just walk into the forest and let it swallow him up. No one would find him.<p>

That damn barn. She'd been in there the whole time. The whole time. Every day he'd left to search the forest, that little girl had been stored in that barn with all those other Walkers, being kept alive by a man who thought he could save them all. It caused a physical pain in Daryl's chest when he thought of it; she was _right there_.

It was by his small fire that Daryl sat, cleaning his arrows for the hundredth time, when the shuffling, missteps of Jordyn approached him.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked, poking her walking stick at an ants nest. She didn't need to rely on the stick for balance as much as she used to, her limp was improving.

"What are _you_ doin' out here?" Daryl asked her right back, Carol had come to "visit" but everyone else had left him be since he'd shifted his stuff.

"Marnie's sick."

Daryl stopped cleaning his arrows and looked up at her, seeing how her face was tight with worry. "Sick with what?"

"Could just be a cold, but it could get worse," Jordyn replied. "I'm going into town with Rick and Glenn to bring Hershel back."

"What?" Anger flared through Daryl, propelling him to his feet. Jordyn started to ramble on about her sister's weak immune system, and saying she was born too early. "If Rick's going why are you going?" He cut into her chattering.

"Because she's my sister," her eyes narrowed like she was getting annoyed. "I can't ask him to do that for me."

"I did." Daryl pointed out, rounding in on her. "I almost died saving your sister, and you!" Suddenly the words he'd tried to keep in came screaming from his lungs. "How many times did we almost get bit on the road looking for that little girl? But we kept going 'til you had what you wanted."

"Why are you mad at me?" She asked, clearly irritated with him. "Daryl, I'll come back but I _have_ to go, don't you get that? You ran into Atlanta after your brother-"

"You _found_ your girl!" Daryl snapped, knowing he was gonna say something insulting but not able to stop himself. "She's here and she's alive! And now you're going into a town with Walkers all over 'cos you think she might be sick? Are you mental or just stupid?" He remembered her back when they first met, that weird, silent girl by the fire. That girl he'd thought was crazy. "That little girl needs you and you're leaving?"

"What Marnie _needs_ is her mother!" Jordyn suddenly exploded. "And I can't give her that, but I can give her a doctor so that's what I'm gonna do!" She took a breath to calm herself, but it didn't seem to have an effect. "I'll come back," Jordyn said again, more firmly. "I'll be fine, and I'll come back."

"Think I care about that?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at her and got in her face. "Care about you?" His rage, fuelled by anger and frustration at his failure in not finding Sophia boiled so hot inside him he thought his veins would burst from his skin. "Nothing special about you 'cept that you can't even kill yourself properly, you crazy bitch!" He spat at his feet. "I'm done helpin' you people!"

Her eyes were wet, angry tears. They had to be because her whole expression screamed that if her rib wasn't still healing she'd pin him down and beat the shit out of him. Instead, she just held her jaw shut, turned, and hobbled back towards the farmhouse.

Daryl was so pissed he couldn't stand still. He grabbed his crossbow and arrows and decided he'd go hunting, killing something always helped. Images of Jordyn kept flashing in his mind, did she not see how bad of an idea this was? He'd thought she was smart - crazy, but smart. Going into town wasn't a smart call but he had a feeling she knew that. Stupid call to save her sister, as much as it ate Daryl's insides up, he couldn't help thinking he might do the same thing. Especially if he'd had his brother back before something else threatened to take him away.

That's the luck of this new world. You get a win and then you're robbed of it.

Slipping his crossbow strap over his shoulder, Daryl took one last glace at Jordyn making her way to the house. Only then did he see it, lying in the spot where Jordyn had been standing. Her walking stick, left behind because she didn't need it anymore.

**xxx**


	24. When Good Men Do Nothing

**Chapter 24: When Good Men Do Nothing**

"Do you gotta go?" Marnie coughed into her sleeve.

"Yeah, I do," Jordyn felt Marnie's forehead as she brushed her hair away from her eyes. She was heating up. "I'm going to get you some medicine to make you feel better, okay?"

Had she been feeling like herself, Jordyn was sure

Marnie would have protested or asked to go with her, but instead she just nodded and looked miserable. "You'll be back soon?"

"Very soon," Jordyn told her. "You stay here with Lori and Maggie," she rearranged the blankets on the bed to tuck her in again. "And I'll be back before you know it."

Jordyn refused to call what she was doing saying goodbye to her sister; it wasn't a goodbye. It was a temporary separation, just like when Marnie had been missing. They'd been brought back together then and it would happen again now. Even so, Jordyn had something she wanted Marnie to have.

From her pocket, she pulled a necklace she'd made for her sister out of the same twine Daryl had used to show off his Walker ears; Jordyn hoped hers would represent something entirely different for her sister. "This is for you," Jordyn draped the necklace of Marnie's head, it was long and the trinket dangling from it - a ring - almost reached her belly button.

"This is Mama's." Marnie said, inspecting the ring.

"Now, it's yours," Jordyn had been keeping the ring inside the inner pocket of one of her jackets since Daryl had removed it from her mother's finger after digging her grave. It felt like forever ago that that had happened. Jordyn hadn't known what she would do with the ring; she certainly didn't want to wear it herself, but once she'd found Marnie it seemed obvious to whom it now belonged.

"But it's too big for my finger," Marnie protested through another cough.

"That's why I made it a necklace," Jordyn picked up the ring and made Marnie hold it in front of her eyes. "See, this way you can look at it whenever you want. And when you do, you think of Mum and she'll take care of you. Even when I'm not here."

Coughing again, Marnie gave her sister a small smile. "Jordy, are you coming back?"

Leaning forward, Jordyn folded her sister in close to her body. "I will always come back to you, okay?" She tilted Marnie's face to meet her eyes and stroked her soft cheek. "Always."

xxx

Outside, Jordyn waited with Rick as Glenn said goodbye to Maggie. Their relationship was becoming more than just one of circumstance; there was care and tenderness between them now. Especially with Maggie, who was tearful as she kissed Glenn goodbye.

In her hands, Jordyn held a pistol that Rick had given her. She'd wanted a rifle, but Rick insisted that in closer quarters the pistol would provide her with better accuracy and faster reloading. Next to the rifle, the handgun was the weapon she was best with. The recoil of the shotgun always made her jump and her attempt with Daryl's crossbow was disastrous. Considering his reaction to her going into town, Jordyn didn't expect any further lessons from him in the near future.

Thinking of him, Jordyn peered out to Daryl's isolated little campsite but his fire pit wasn't even smoking. He was nowhere in sight. Jordyn did a quick scan of the farm for him, but he wasn't there. Hunting, she assumed. He always did it when he was pissed off.

Finally able to detach himself from Maggie, Glenn arrived at the truck and the trio got moving. Rick drove, and Jordyn climbed into the back rather than squeeze between the boys in the front seat. It made her feel like a rebellious little kid again, facing the wrong way without a seatbelt on in the back of a speeding car. Only she wouldn't be reprimanded by anyone this time, and that sudden thought of her mother sent a stab into her heart.

Jordyn wasn't sure what to expect of the ride into town, but of all things it was peaceful. She had worried Walkers would be so thick on the roads they would have to plough through and over them. But it wasn't like that at all. Not that there weren't Walkers - there were. Jordyn spotted at least ten on the drive, but they were all on their own. One was bumping repeatedly into a fence that wouldn't break, one was chewing on a leg on the side of the highway, one was walking in circles in the middle of a field; and none of them turned their heads to the sound of the car passing.

"They look dead," Glenn said, immediately realizing the idiocy of his statement. "I mean, dead for them... do you think they could die?" He asked Rick. "Like, if you locked one in a room, would it starve?"

"Not sure," Rick answered, keeping his eyes on the road. "Don't really wanna find out."

"I think they just shutdown," Jordyn piped up from the back. "They're alive in that they're still moving, but that's it," she rolled her eyes to herself, not understanding her own gibberish. "They're like material ghosts," she added. "Lingering."

xxx

The Hatlands bar was moody, empty and stank of stale beer; but Jordyn had a feeling it was always like that. It reminded her of Ted's Bar, only she sensed that this bar was frequented by more depressed, belligerent drunks than her employer's had been. She was used to the mostly male, senior crowd, watching sports and playing cards and laughing as they told stories from the past. Real gentlemen, all of them.

Hershel sat front and centre at the bar tipping high class whiskey into a tumbler. There was glass in the back of the bar that reflected Rick, Glenn and Jordyn coming in so he definitely saw them, but he made no movement to show it.

Rick approached him, asking him how many drinks he'd had, while Glenn and Jordyn did a quick survey of the bar. Automatically, Jordyn moved behind the bar the way she would if she was starting her shift. Everything was in a different place, but it still gave her some sense of nostalgia. It was one thing she knew she was good at, being a bartender. Didn't seem that impressive, but she honestly didn't care.

"Beth's in some sort of state," Rick was saying to Hershel, quiet as if not to be overheard even though they were more than alone. "She's in shock, I think you are, too. She needs you."

"She needs her mother," Hershel cut in, and Jordyn took his statement as her cue.

"My sister is sick," Jordyn told him, giving him a quick, basic history of Marnie's previous battles with pneumonia. "I need to know what to get for her."

"Antibiotics," Hershel told her, sipping his drink. "Something safe for kids." He tapped his finger against his glass and was quiet for a moment. "Erythromycin." He said a moment later, slowly turning his head to Jordyn. "Ery-Tab, E-Mycin, or Robimycin." He listed as Jordyn grabbed a felt tip pen from under the bar and held her wrist out to Hershel for him to write on her skin. "They'll be at the back of the pharmacy if they're anywhere." His writing was sloppy, but readable. When he finished with the pen he just tossed it to the floor and turned his bloodshot eyes back to his drink.

"Glenn, go with her," Jordyn heard Rick say as she made her way back out into the street.

The sun was setting, casting shadows over everything tricking Jordyn into thinking Walkers were mobbing her. Even Glenn's feet shuffling behind her made her anxious. She realized how long it had been since she'd been out in the world. The _new _world. Finding Marnie had seemed like forever ago, not just a few weeks. And the Walkers in the barn... Sophia... had that really just been a few days ago?

"Careful," Glenn whispered, taking the lead as they crossed the street towards the pharmacy. He headed inside first. "There'll be a Walker body out the back."

And sure enough, there was. When Jordyn made her way to the back she spied a male corpse sprawled on the floor between the medication shelves. The smell was horrifying. Even in a world where Jordyn was getting used to the smell of death, to inhale nothing but the thick stench of decaying skin and infection made her gag. She felt like with each breath she was inhaling poison that coated her throat with a sickly layer of grime.

Even breathing through her nose, Jordyn couldn't escape it so she took to holding her breath and only breathing in when her lungs ordered her too. Scanning the shelves, Jordyn's mind swam with names of medications she'd never heard before, checking all of them against the product names on her arm. She assumed, originally, that there had been some sort of order to the pill bottles, but since every man and his dog had swarmed the place for anything and everything, it was a mess. And a lot of the shelves were empty.

Jordyn searched the shelves near the Walker body first, she didn't want to save that area until last, but she didn't find anything. The further back she went she realized there were more pill bottles on the floor than on the shelves. Some were open and spilled, some had been trodden on, and a few rollaway bottles had come to rest in the Walker's pool of blood.

Kneeled on the floor, Jordyn sorted through the packets and bottles at her feet. None of the labels were familiar to her in the slightest. _Seroquel, Diovan, Robaxin, Cymbalta, Ery-Tab_... Ery-Tab! Jordyn couldn't stifle the squeal of joy that yipped from her mouth when she closed her fist around the medicine.

"Jordyn?" Glenn, hearing her squeak, came hurrying to her aid.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "I found the meds."

"There's some stuff out the back," Glenn was cramming boxes into his backpack. "Storage area. All the drugs are gone but there's some random stuff like swabs and bacterial wipes."

"What did you-?" Jordyn started to ask, but then she saw one of the box labels. "Condoms? That's all you found worth taking?"

"I got the swabs and wipes, too," Glenn protested. "Oh, and I got this for you," he jammed his hand into his pocket and fished out a penny-sized badge that proclaimed _Bite Me_ in a cartoonish, gothic print. He pinned it to the strap of her tank top. "Maybe it'll act as a deterrent?" He added as a hopeful joke, but all either of them managed was a weak smile.

They went back to scavenging out the front of the store. With the antibiotics in hand, Jordyn went in search of flu medications. She knew she'd gathered whatever she'd had when they had gone back to her apartment, but she also knew the meds had been the first thing picked clean from the stash in the back of Merle's truck when they'd initially arrived at the farm.

Most of the useful drugs were gone, but Jordyn did get two packets of cough drops, a generic night-time decongestant syrup, and an eczema cream for the elderly that she thought would still work for Marnie's rash. She also found a pack of playing cards with bikini girls on them, a hot pink penlight, and a plush puppy toy keychain.

While zipping her bag, a fluttering piece of paper caught her eye. A calendar on the wall was blowing in the wind blowing through the broken window. Jordyn flicked back through the months, each one showing a different picture of a farm animal. The days had been religiously checked off up until the first day of the infection. It struck Jordyn that she wasn't actually sure what day it was, let alone the month. But one thing she knew for sure was that she'd missed the seventeenth. Cursing to herself, she turned her back to the stupid calendar.

New items in tow, Jordyn and Glenn left the pharmacy, offloaded their items into the truck and headed back to the bar. They had barely told Rick their trip was successful when from behind her, Jordyn heard the bar door being pushed open. Having followed Glenn inside, she knew whoever it was posed a threat and whipped her gun out as she turned, ready to fire down some Walkers. But the two figures who entered the bar weren't infected. In fact, as people went these days, they looked quite healthy.

"Son of bitch," the slimmer man said, looking back to his much stockier friend. "They're alive."

There was an invisible line between the two groups. Jordyn took cover behind the bar next to Glenn while the two men chose to sit at a table and on a bar stool respectively. The larger guy was at the bar, and kept pretending to be scratching his neck when really he was looking at Jordyn.

The thinner man was much more relaxed as he sank into a chair and asked to share a drink. "I'm Dave," he said, rubbing at the dark stubble on his chin. His hair was dark, too, and he looked tough. He reminded Jordyn of Daryl a little, probably because of the attitude and lack of sleeves.

"That skinny bastard is Tony." He nodded to his portly friend who sported a much thicker beard and wore an ascot cap.

"Eat me, Dave," Tony chuckled. When he laughed, his whole belly shuddered.

"Maybe someday I will," Dave smirked. "We met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit show that was."

Glenn, next to Jordyn, smiled. "I'm Glenn," he introduced himself. "It's good to see some new people."

"Rick Grimes." Rick said as he set a glass in front of Dave and poured him a drink, and then did the same for Tony.

"How about you, pal?" Dave said to Hershel, pointing at his drink. "Have one?"

"I just quit." Hershel replied dazedly.

Dave grinned. "You got a unique sense of timing, my friend."

"His name's Hershel," Rick volunteered. "And he lost people today. A lot of them."

Dave's smile vanished. "I'm truly sorry to hear that," he dipped his head to Hershel and then raised his glass. "To better days and new friends. And to our dead. May they be in a better place."

To that, they all drank. Jordyn hated whiskey, but if nothing else it was a distraction for a few seconds. She swallowed the half a shot Glenn had poured her in one mouthful and then felt eyes watching her.

"Didn't quite catch your name," Dave peered at Jordyn through the gap between Rick's hand on his hip.

"Jordyn."

"Jordyn," Dave bowed his head to her. "Must be our lucky day, Tony," he commented to his friend. "As well as a good drink, there's a real pretty girl in this bar."

Jordyn forced a smile which was hard since her lips were so tightly pressed together. She didn't take his compliment for anything more than a weak come-on. Her clothes were dirty, her coffee-coloured hair was greasy and stringy two days before when she'd forced it into a braid, she couldn't imagine how gross it was now. But she was a woman. And she knew that, in a world like this, that's all she needed to qualify as pretty. _Especially _to a lonely man.

When Dave leant forwards to refill his drink, Jordyn spied the weapon he had sticking out the back of his jeans. She was about to indicate it to Rick, but the Sheriff was already staring at the gun, and Dave noticed.

"Not bad, huh?" Dave removed the weapon casually and set it on the table. "I got it off a cop."

"I'm a cop." Rick said, easing back into the bar stool next to Hershel.

"This one was already dead." Dave said with another grin, but an awkward silence followed.

"You boys are a long way from Philadelphia." Rick noted. "What drove you South?"

"First we were headed was DC," Dave explained. "Heard there might be some kind of refugee camp, army stations and whatnot," he shook his head. "But the roads were so jammed we never got close. So we decided to haul ass into the sticks. Every group we came across had a new rumour about a way out of this thing."

Tony scoffed. "One guy told us there was a Coastguard at the coast sending ferries out to the islands."

"Latest we saw was some shithole called Alpha Station," Dave shrugged. "We heard the army had tried to set up stations out this way but only some were actually up and running."

Rick looked over his shoulder to Jordyn, she had told him about Alpha Station. The plan was to go there if Hershel kicked them out; a plan Rick had told Jordyn to keep quiet in case something happened. "What happened at Alpha Station?" Jordyn found herself asking Dave. It was the headquarters of the whole operation in her mind, it was where she'd been sent to find information on Marnie. It was where she'd found help. It was where she found Remy, who had been infected helping Jordyn find her sister. If it was gone...

"Parts of it were still burning," Dave answered her. "Looked like it would have been a good place to set up if the lamebrains hadn't got in. There were so many inside they were climbing over each other trying to get out." He raised an eyebrow to Jordyn. "You got someone there?"

In reply, she just shook her head and nudged Glenn to pour her another drink. This was a couple of seconds she could do with delaying.

"We're headed to Nebraska." Dave continued, smile back in place. "How about you guys?"

"Fort Benning, eventually." Rick told him.

Dave's face fell. "Hate to piss in your cornflakes, Officer," he said staring into his glass. "But we ran across a grunt who was stationed at Benning... said the whole place was run over with lamebrains."

"Wait, Fort Benning's gone?" Glenn's eyes widened. "Are you for real?"

"Sadly, I am." Dave looked solemn. "Ugly truth is there's no way out of this mess. Doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here," he gestured to the bar. "You holed up somewhere else?"

More silence, and Jordyn had never seen Rick look less animated while he smiled. He was clearly putting on a polite front, and the tension amidst the group thickened. Something very weird was shifting in the air, and Jordyn's fight or flight mode was ticking heavily into flight. Something bad was coming.

"So, what, you guys set up on the outskirts?" Dave kept on questioning. "New development?"

"Trailer park or something?" Tony grunted as he got to his feet. "A farm?" He stood by the jukebox and, keeping his eyes on Jordyn, unzipped his pants and started to piss.

Unable to keep herself from blanching, Jordyn shifted to Glenn's other side trying to block the feral smell from her nostrils.

Dave kept his eyes on Rick, who was staring in disbelief at Tony, and leant forwards in his chair. "You got food and water?"

"You got more coos?" Tony asked hopefully. "Haven't had a piece of ass in weeks."

"Pardon my friend," Dave said rubbing his eyes. "He's got no tact." He caught Jordyn's eyes. "No disrespect." He told her. "Truth is we don't got a whole lot of ladies in our gang as is. So, Jordyn, what's this farm-?"

"We've said enough." Rick swiftly cut him off.

"Hang on, this farm sounds pretty sweet," he turned to his still pissing friend. "Don't it sound sweet, Tony?"

"Yeah, real sweet." He finished and zipped himself up, but he didn't move far from the puddle he'd made. He was almost proud, rearranging his shotgun over his shoulder and leaning against the wall.

"We can't take in anymore." Rick finished, his tone signalling there was no more discussion to be had.

"You guys are somethin' else," Dave chuckled and scratched his eyebrow. "I thought we were friends."

"We don't know anything about you," Rick said firmly.

"That's true," Dave agreed. "You don't know anything about us." His face was still. "You don't know what we've had to go through out there, things we've had to do..." he chewed his lower lip. "Betcha had to do some of those things yourself, right? Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same." His smile briefly returned. "So, come on, let's take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and we'll get to know each other."

Rick just shrugged. "That's not gonna happen."

"This is bullshit!" Tony suddenly spat, rounding in on Rick. "I'll shoot all you assholes in the head and then take your damn farm-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dave sprang to his feet and got between Rick and Tony. "_Relax_. Take it easy," he gave Rick a friendly nudge on the shoulder. "Nobody's killin' anybody." He returned to the bar and smiled at Jordyn. "Get us a drink, would you sweetheart?"

The way he stared at her suddenly made Jordyn feel nauseous. There was a lack of control in his eyes, a hyped up sense of rebellion. In a disaster scenario, unstable men without rules were a whole new danger. "_Always happens_," Olivia had said to her daughter while watching a horrific news story from the Middle East. "_Weak men without rules in a world without rules are wild animals_."

Clenching her jaw, Jordyn selected a bottle of whiskey off the wall and set it flinging down the bar towards Dave. It annoyed her that he caught it before it flipped off the edge, and it annoyed her more that he seemed to enjoy her little flash of attitude. This guy made her skin crawl, she couldn't wait to get away from him. How could she think he reminded her of Daryl?

"This'll work." He tapped the bottle he caught and lined up a fresh glass to pour himself another drink. "You gotta understand," he said. "We can't stay out there. You know what it's like."

"Yeah, I do," Rick sounded apologetic, but wouldn't back down. "But the farm's too crowded as is, I'm sorry. You'll have to keep lookin'."

"_Keep lookin'_?" Dave repeated, his face shadowing in the fast dwindling sunlight. "And where do you suggest we do that?"

"I don't know," Rick shrugged. "I hear Nebraska's nice."

"Nebraska?" He smiled and raised his eyebrows to Tony. "This guy..." His grin widened, and then disappeared when he reached for his gun. Not fast enough.

_Bang!_

A shot to the head, and Rick had Dave down. Then the Sheriff swiftly turned and-

_Bang! Bang!_

Tony slumped to the floor, his head coming to rest right in the centre of his pool of urine.

Jordyn's feet led her to Rick's side. "Holy shit..." she mumbled under her breath, unable to take her eyes of Tony's body.

"You alright?" Rick asked her, she nodded. "Glenn? Hershel?" Glenn nodded, too, and after a few moments of heavy breathing, so did Hershel. "Alright, grab their weapons, lets head back." He knelt by Tony, took his shotgun and found two rounds in his pocket.

It was while Glenn was retrieving Dave's gun that the unmistakable glimmer of headlights filtered through the windows. "Shit." Glenn swore, ducking down. The sun had well and truly set, giving them all plenty of darkness to hide in.

"Car!" Rick pulled Jordyn down next to him so they were flat against the wall. Hershel crouched beside her.

"Our people?" Jordyn asked Rick hopefully. But her hopes were immediately squashed when she heard an unfamiliar male voice call out from right by the door.

"Dave? Tony? We heard shots."

**xxx**


	25. Escape Route

**Chapter 25: Escape Route**

Flattening herself against the door, Jordyn tried to slow down her heartbeat. It was thudding against her ribcage so hard she thought for sure it was one thump away from causing an echo. Upon hearing the voices closing in towards the bar, Jordyn shifted herself right in front of the door to block it if they came in. Rick's face was a storm of disapproval over her movement, but the men were much too close for him to be able to stop her. There were two voices outside now, and both were on the search for Dave and Tony.

"I saw roamers two streets over," the second male with a deeper voice said. "This place is a hotspot, we gotta keep moving."

"I'm tellin' you, man, I heard shots." The first man maintained.

Jordyn was closest to the pane-glass bar door, and above her head a shadow came across in the spreading moonlight. One shadow was standing right there on the other side of the door. Heavy footsteps shuffled back and forth on the timber porch; the other man was pacing. Then the pacing man whistled to his friend, and the shadow faded away. Only then did Jordyn let herself exhale.

Beside her, Rick stood straight and peered through the curtains and then he ducked back down. "Sit tight," he told Jordyn as he stayed crouched down and inched his way over to Glenn and Hershel.

"We can't just sit here," Rick whispered to them all. Though he was kneeling by Hershel and Glenn, Rick made sure to keep eye contact with Jordyn. "We should head out the back, make a run to the car." Rick looked to each of them for their nod of approval and then started for the rear of the bar.

Jordyn didn't even get her back off the door before four gunshots rang out far off to the left. Glenn and Hershel stayed put and Rick shifted back into the shadows, standing straight to peer out the window again.

"Roamers, Nate!" A third male voice said proudly, younger and more vibrant than the other two. "I nailed 'em."

"Good, did you find Tony and Dave?" Nate asked.

"Disappeared," the deeper voice said. "But their car's still here."

"Ok, I cleared those buildings, you guys get this one?" The three sets of footsteps picked up and approached Hatlands. "We're looking for Dave and Tony and no one checks the damn bar?"

The timber of the porch creaked as the trio came closer. Rick knelt back down, tightening his grip on his gun. Jordyn tensed, and then the door smacked her right in the back of the neck. She pressed her back against it as hard as she could to keep it closed; but she had already been noticed.

"Someone pushed that shut." Nate said. "There's someone in there. Yo, is someone in there?"

"Look; whoever's in there we don't want no trouble." Nate said calmly through the door. "We're just looking for our friends."

"What are we gonna do?" The young kid asked. "Rush the door?"

"No, we don't know many are in there," Deep Voice told him. "Just relax."

"We don't want any trouble," Nate repeated through the door. "We're just looking for our friends. If something happened, tell us." He paused. "This place is crawling with corpses. If you could help us not get killed, I'd appreciate it."

"Dude, you're nuts, I'm tellin' you nobody's in there." Deep Voice said, his heavy boots moving away from the door.

"They're in there," Nate insisted. "And they might know where Dave and Tony are."

Tensed up and muttering to himself, Rick knocked his head back against the wall before giving Jordyn an apologetic look, like he was afraid. "They drew on us!" Rick roared over his shoulder.

The footsteps halted. "Dave and Tony in there?" Nate asked. "They alive?

Rick gulped, wiping sweat off his brow and staring up at the roof. "No," He admitted.

"Let's _go_." Deep Voice urged his partners.

"No!" Nate growled in a loud whisper. "I'm not going back to Jane and tellin' her that Dave and Tony got shot by some assholes in a bar."

"Your friends drew on us!" Rick yelled defensively, his voice gravelly and hoarse. "They gave us no choice!"

Silence. No voices. No footsteps.

"I'm sure we've all lost enough people," Rick continued. "Done things we wish we didn't have to. But it's like that now, you know that! So let's just chalk this up to what it was: wrong place, wrong-

_Snick! Bang! Crash!_

"Shit!" Jordyn swore as the window above her shattered, and broken glass rained down the back of her neck.

Rick sprang to his feet and started firing through the new hole in the door. "Go!" He ordered his friends. "Go!"

Keeping low, Jordyn pushed off from the door feeling the glass dig into her back. The closest place for her to hide was behind the bar next to Dave's body, so she kicked aside a bar stool and hid there. She could see Hershel further back near the drink cabinet, and she hoped Glenn was somewhere just as secure. Another shot rang out, making Jordyn press herself against the bar. She almost screamed out loud in shock. Fragments of glass stung into her back like she was being pricked with needles. But it was a pain she could handle.

"Hey!" Rick called out through the door, reloading his gun as he spoke. "We all know this is not gonna end well! There's nothing in it for any of us. You guys just back off, no one else gets hurt."

_Crash!_

Jordyn looked behind her, towards the sound of the noise. It had come from outside, but outside out the back. _Behind_ the bar; which meant the men were surrounding them. Boxing them in. Jordyn tried to get Rick's attention, but he was already gesturing at who Jordyn soon saw was Glenn carefully edging towards the back exit with a hefty shotgun clasped in his arms. Her heartbeat sped up in worry for her friend. It was less than a minute later that she heard another gunshot and more glass shatter.

_Bang! Crash!_

"Glenn?" Jordyn was moving towards the shot before she realized it. "Glenn!"

"I'm al-alright, I'm alright!" His voice stammered back to her, but he sounded much younger than he was.

Jordyn had already made it to Hershel's side, and he held her back by her elbow to keep her from following Glenn any further. Hearing the gunshot, Rick ran to Glenn's aid as well but paused at Jordyn's side. "I'll hold 'em here, you cover Glenn and Jordyn." Rick told Hershel, then he looked to Jordyn and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Get Glenn, and make it to the car, okay?"

Walking on her toes, Jordyn made her way through the back exit with Hershel close behind her. Glenn was standing by the rear door, his feet surrounded by shards of broken glass. Not wanting to alert whoever might be outside but also not wanting to scare Glenn, Jordyn clicked her fingers.

Glenn spun gun raised, about to fire, and then saw who was behind him. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he muttered, breathing out a sigh of relief when he saw Jordyn and Hershel.

"Rick wants us to try for the car." Jordyn whispered.

"Try?" Glenn repeated doubtfully.

"You'll try and succeed." Hershel assured him setting a firm hand on his shoulder. "I'll cover you."

"Great plan," Glenn deadpanned.

The back door squeaked as Glenn nudged it open. No one fired. Nothing came running for them. So Glenn stepped slowly out into the alley, more broken glass crunching under his boots. He looked both ways as if crossing the street and edged for the dumpsters just a few steps away. But while his back was turned, a shot rang out from behind him and Glenn hit the ground.

Stepping into the alley towards the direction of the shot, Jordyn aimed and fired at what she thought was a Walker, even though she knew it had just fired a gun. Her aim wasn't as good as it was with her rifle; she missed his head and had shot him in the shoulder. And then, from the sound of his audible and still-human groans of pain, she realized she had just shot Deep Voice.

But Jordyn's mind was on Glenn. She stepped back beside Hershel and looked for her friend, but all she could see from her vantage point was his legs flat on the ground. "Glenn?" Jordyn called for him; but he didn't reply.

"Doesn't look like he's moving..." Hershel said under his breath.

Jordyn ignored the doctor. "Glenn?" He still didn't answer her. "Glenn?" Jordyn crouched and sped to the dumpster as fast as she could. For a split second, she really thought Glenn was dead. He was just staring vaguely into space, eyes focused on nothing. His skin was pale and drained of colour. But when Jordyn grabbed his face between her hands, he blinked. "Did you get hit? Are you okay?" His face was shock white; Jordyn had never seem him so scared. "Glenn? Did you get hit?"

"No, no, I didn't," He suddenly grabbed her wrists and held her still, like he was afraid she would leave him.

"It's okay," she tried to keep calm. If Glenn was panicking then she couldn't afford to. "The car is right there, okay?" From the look on his face, she thought he might puke all over her. "Glenn?" She smiled and stroked his cheek. "We're almost outta here. We're almost home. We're all gonna head out of here together, alright?" She nodded at him, waiting for his okay. She wouldn't move until he agreed.

"Yeah," he let go of her wrists and instead clutched his shotgun. "Yeah, alright."

Peering around the dumpster to check on Hershel, Jordyn saw that Rick had joined him. She gave them a thumbs up to let them know Glenn was alright, and then signalled to Rick that she and Glenn were headed for the car. But the second she stepped out into the alley, she heard another _snick!_

"Stay back!" Rick yelled hoarsely. "That come from the rooftop?"

Through the slats of a crate by the dumpster, Jordyn could see a young boy standing on top of the pharmacy with a slim rifle aimed down at her and Glenn. Cursing, she looked to Rick and nodded, pointing toward the pharmacy.

A screech of tires on the asphalt of the road screamed through the still night. The driver was Nate, behind the wheel of a sturdy SUV screeching through the open passenger window to his young, sniper friend. "Randall! Let's get outta here! Roamers all over the place, we gotta go!"

"What about Sean?"

"They shot him!" Nate yelled. "Roamers are everywhere, come on!"

In the alley behind Jordyn and Glenn, Deep Voice - Sean - was still groaning in agony, writhing on the grass and clutching his bleeding wound. He didn't seem to be able to hear his friends planning to leave him behind.

"Jump!" Nate instructed Randall. "Jump already!"

Tossing his gun down first, the kid took a flying leap off the pharmacy to land on the rooftop beside it; but he didn't fly far enough. His ankle snagged in the drain. Hollering in pain, he fell behind the fence, on the opposite side to where Nate was waiting with the car.

And then another sound came into the night. Growls.

"I gotta go!" Nate cried to Randall. "I'm sorry!" And he took off, leaving his young friend wailing in distress.

"Help me!" Randall cried out into the night. "Please, help me!"

"Get Hershel."

Jordyn almost peed herself when she heard Rick's voice in her ear; she hadn't heard him make his way over to her. And before she could reply, he was sprinting towards the cries from the injured kid. As Jordyn was about to call Rick back, she saw three figures shuffling towards Sean, towards the alley, towards Hershel. "Hershel!" Jordyn sprang to her feet and aimed her gun. She watched the three Walkers fall to their knees and start feasting on Sean, who was still very much alive as they bit into him. All he could do was scream as one latched onto his face and completely chewed off his nose.

Keeping her gun at the ready, Jordyn retrieved Hershel and then came back to get Glenn. Her friend was still shock white, but at least he was moving.

"We gotta go," Hershel said to Glenn and Jordyn as he made his way over to Rick. The kid, Randall, had landed on another dumpster in his fall, but his leg was speared in the calf on a sharp, diamond top of fence post. He was stuck. "Rick?" Hershel said again. "The gunfire's attracted more Walkers, we gotta go."

"No!" The kid cried in pain, or in fear of being left behind.

"I'm sorry, son, we have to go." Hershel patted the boys uninjured knee. "I am sorry."

"No, no," Randall wailed. "Please don't leave me. _Please_."

Rick grabbed Hershel's forearm. "We can't leave him like this."

"He was just shooting at us!" Jordyn reminded him, very aware she could hear Walkers groaning and moaning from at least two directions now.

"He's a kid!" Rick argued back.

Strength returning, Glenn stood right at Jordyn's side. "This place is crawling with Walkers!"

"We _cannot_ leave him!" Rick said again, pulling Hershel back close to the injured teenager. "What can you do, doc?"

Reluctantly, Hershel inspected the boys' leg. "The fence went clean through, there's no way we can get this leg off in one piece." He prodded the skin around the leg, sending Randall into a screaming fit.

"Shut up!" Rick ordered the kid making sure he saw his gun. "Or I will shoot you!"

"That may be the answer," Hershel muttered as he pulled Rick aside. "We're not gonna get that leg off without tearing the muscle to shreds. He might bleed out, and he sure can't run. I don't wanna see anymore killing, but we can't just leave him to get eaten."

"Can't we just take the leg off?" Glenn suggested.

It struck Jordyn as a very good Plan B. "That hatchet still in the car?" She asked Glenn, who shook his head.

"No, no, no don't cut off my leg," Randall begged tearfully. "Please, please don't cut off my leg!"

From his pocket, Rick whipped a clean, sharp hunting knife. "Will this cut through the bone?" He held the knife in front of Hershel's eyes.

"I'll have to sever the ligaments below the kneecap," Hershel said, taking the knife. "Cut above the tibia. He's gonna lose his lower leg." Hershel pulled off his button down shirt and used it as a tourniquet. "When we get clear of here we're gonna have to find something to cauterize the wound so he doesn't bleed out."

"Alright, no choice, hurry up." Rick reached through the fence and held the kid down so he'd stop moving. He picked up the kid's rifle and tossed it to Jordyn. "Lucky you," he gave her the briefest of smiles.

Slinging the rifle over her back, Jordyn stepped back out into the road as the moans she'd been hearing intensified. Across the street, just coming up to the curb were no less than five Walkers. "Glenn!" Jordyn called over her shoulder as she aimed her pistol.

"Walkers!" Glenn shouted to Rick and Hershel as he lined up his shotgun. "Hurry up!" He fired, hitting one of the Walker's in the neck.

Behind them, Jordyn heard more groans. Three more Walkers were coming up the other end of the street. "Oh, shit," she stood back to back with Glenn and started firing. She hit the closest one, a woman in a nightdress, in the shoulder and then the chest. The man in overalls who behind her tripped on her body and fell, giving Jordyn an extra couple of seconds to line up her shot and fire into his skull. He collapsed on top of the woman in the nightdress keeping her writhing body pinned down. Lining up to shoot the third Walker, something caught Jordyn's eye. More Walkers were emerged from behind the pharmacy.

"Christ, they're everywhere!" Rick said before he started firing behind him.

Over Hershel's shoulder, Jordyn could see another handful of Walkers stumbling towards the dumpster following the kid's desperate pleas for Hershel not to cut off his leg.

"Dammit!" Glenn yelled. "We gotta go, now! I got one shot left!"

Passing her gun to Glenn, Jordyn readied her new rifle and shot down the third Walker before she aimed towards the oncoming mass she'd spotted. She pulled the trigger again and again and again until it was just clicking empty. She'd taken down four more Walkers, but at least double that were still coming. "I'm out!"

"Do it now!" Rick ordered Hershel.

"There's no time!" Devastated, Hershel let go of the kid and stepped back.

"No, please don't leave me!" Randall begged Rick. "Please!" He sobbed. "Please don't leave me here!"

And then Rick grabbed his leg and thrust it up off the fence. The kid screamed so loud that the Walkers seemed to bray in reply. And then he slumped backwards; silent. "Jordyn, help me," Rick said taking the kid by the shoulders.

Hitching her rifle over her shoulder, Jordyn grabbed the kid around his knees and ran awkwardly with Rick towards their truck. Glenn had the trunk open and Hershel was behind the wheel. Glenn fired his last shot at a Walker by the headlights and then climbed in beside Hershel. As soon as Jordyn's feet were off the ground, they sped off, the motion of the car slamming the trunk door shut just as Walkers managed to slap their rotting hands on the glass.

"Shit... shit... shit..." Jordyn kept swearing to herself, leaning back and trying to catch her breath. It was a hell of a way to get back out on the street after all her time in bed healing. The teenager's blood was all over her shirt and forearms. There was even blood on her _Bite Me_ badge. "Shit..."

"He's alive," Rick checked the kid's pulse and then sat back opposite Jordyn in a similar position, also trying to breath steady.

"Shit," It was all Jordyn could say.

"Yeah," Rick panted in agreement. "Shit."

**xxx**


	26. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly

**Chapter 26: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly...**

About ten kilometres from the pharmacy, Hershel pulled into an abandoned gas station, _Phil's_, with a flickering emergency light surrounding the rooftop. There was also a lime green emergency light inside the store, and red ones out the back signalling restrooms. It would have been festive if it weren't for the corpses on the ground.

Rick and Jordyn jumped out the back of the truck and let Hershel tend to Randall, who was still unconscious. "I'm gonna wash this off," Jordyn gestured to her damp clothes. Since she'd been the lucky one who had held Randall's legs, her shirt had been doused in his blood.

"We're outta ammo and you might attract Walkers," Rick shook his head and held her back by her shoulder. "Can't risk it."

Shrugging him off, Jordyn took the ten steps towards the open mechanics door lit up quite clearly in the moonlight where, right by the workbench, she found a hammer. "I'll be fine," she waved her new weapon at Rick. "I'm not gonna sit here all night covered in that asshole's blood. _That_ will attract Walkers."

The path to the restrooms was relatively clear considering the bodies and handful of abandoned cars that littered the grass. Some cars still had occupants, long dead, and many had been looted with almost every window broken. Jordyn stepped quickly over the body of a woman blocking her path and went into the tiny restroom. It's small size turned out to be a good thing. There was no way a Walker was hiding behind a corner in a space where Jordyn couldn't fully stretch out her arms. Plus, the lock still worked.

The red emergency light came through the awning window making Jordyn feel like she was in a seedy nightclub; but at least she could see. Water sputtered out of the tap like there was a rock jammed in the pipe as Jordyn peeled off her bloodied shirt, grabbed some paper towels and started cleaning the blood off her arms and stomach.

While scrubbing the back of her shoulder, she felt a sharp pinch and remembered the broken glass that had rained down on her. The light wasn't bright enough for her to see in the mirror just how many cuts were in her back, but she saw dark spots dotted over her the skin of her shoulder blades.

The tap pressure slowed down to a trickle, so Jordyn stopped cleaning herself and used the remainder of water to get the blood out from under her nails. But when she was ready to leave she didn't put her ruined shirt back on. She didn't know how much blood was on it, but she knew that as long as her back was bleeding; she wasn't going to chance mixing it with Randall's blood.

It was just another sign to Jordyn that they should dump the kid as soon as possible. Blood and noise were the biggest attractors of Walkers, and this kid was groaning in pain and his leg was gushing. He was a blindingly obvious danger to them all. And not only were they helping him, they were bringing him _back_ with them to the farm. To the place where Jordyn's sick baby sister was waiting for her.

After putting her _Bite Me_ pin safe in her pocket, Jordyn tossed the shirt into a corner of the bathroom, grabbed her hammer and carefully edged back outside to the closest abandoned car in just her fading black bra. It was too dark and she felt too vulnerable with just her hammer protecting her to stand there and search for clothes, so she just grabbed the first thing that felt like a t-shirt and tugged it over her head as she went back to her friends.

Glenn was still circling the truck, guarding Hershel and Randall, but Rick was inside the store section of the gas station searching supplies with a penlight in his mouth. Jordyn joined him making sure to announce herself before she got too close to him as she saw he held a tire iron in his hand - another "gift" from the mechanic garage.

"Hungry?" Rick asked, tossing her a candy bar.

Nodding, Jordyn unwrapped the chocolate and chomped down half in one bite. "What are we gonna do with the kid?" She asked Rick after she swallowed.

"Hershel said there's no point cutting off the leg now," Rick said picking through a box of trampled on breath mints. "He'll just bleed more, and that'll kill him faster."

"So, what... we're gonna take care of him?" Jordyn raised her eyebrows. "He tried to kill us, Rick. Me and Glenn. The only thing that saved us is that he's a horrible shot."

"We couldn't just leave him there."

"You know, I actually think I can get that," Jordyn said, rocking back on her haunches. "But why does taking care of him fall on us? His friends left him behind, the same friends who pulled their guns on us in that bar."

"He's a kid; he didn't deserve to die like that." Rick maintained.

"And what if his friend comes looking for him?" Jordyn asked. "What if the rest of their gang jump in a van and come shooting up into the farm?" The thought of a group of men like Dave and Tony ambushing the farm made Jordyn's skin crawl, but the thought of them being near her little sister just made her furious. "You're endangering everyone. My sister. Your son."

"We're taking him back to the farm," Rick said firmly, in that same tone of voice he'd used with Dave that signalled discussion was over. "And we'll take it from there."

Clucking her tongue, Jordyn gave up with him and got to her feet. "Fine," she huffed. "For the record, I am not on board with this."

"Noted." Rick mumbled.

On the walk back to the truck, Jordyn was able to see the shirt she'd pulled on in her moonlit reflection through the one remaining window of the store. Even in just the moonlight she could see it had _My Other Shirt Is Funny_ written across the chest. She felt that her _Bite Me_ badge was still in the front pocket of her jeans, and wasn't too thrilled with her sudden attraction to novelty-wear. But the shirt was clean and dry and free from Randall's blood; so that made it her new favourite shirt.

Resisting the urge to ask Hershel if her would-be murderer was dead yet, Jordyn kept her question to the vet polite. "How is he?"

"He can't be moved until morning," Hershel said wiping his hands on a rag. "Can't risk him bleeding out in the back of the truck on the drive."

Rolling her eyes, Jordyn ran her tongue on the inside of her teeth. "When's the earliest we can go?"

"Sunrise."

"Naturally," Jordyn said tossing her hammer up onto the roof of the car.

"What are you doing?" Glenn asked her through the passenger's window, jumping at the clatter her hammer made above him.

"Taking watch," Jordyn scowled as she heaved herself up onto the bonnet and then up onto the roof of the truck. Truth was, she was so frustrated with Rick she would rather be alone under the guise of guarding them against Walkers rather than share a car with him.

Hanging her head over the side through the passenger window, Jordyn had Glenn hand her her new rifle which she spent the night getting used to. It was lighter than her old one had been, but awkward for her to hold. She wondered if she could cut off some of the handle. Was there such thing as a sawn-off rifle? From the size of the magazine she guessed it would fire ten shots a round; same as her old one, so they should have ammo for it back at the farm.

Lying down wasn't possible for Jordyn without her back stinging up a storm. She knew there was still glass in there, but she could hang on until they had some sunlight and were back at the farm. Thinking of the farm made Marnie swim into her mind, and Jordyn said a silent goodnight to her sister hoping she was a lot safer than Jordyn was on top of this car.

**xxx**

When the truck rumbled up the dirt road towards the farm, Daryl squinted in the early morning sunlight to see who was in it. He, T-Dog and Shane were headed out to look for Rick, Jordyn, Glenn and Hershel. They'd been gone all night and Lori was freaking out. Shane said if they weren't back by morning, he'd lead a group out looking for them. They were almost ready to go when the truck returned.

The truck pulled to a stop right by the RV. Rick exited the car first, hugging his boy and then his wife. Maggie ran past her father to hug Glenn. Jordyn climbed out of the passenger's seat looking exhausted and Daryl felt the tightness in his chest start to fade away. At first he thought she was smiling at him, but then beside him through the porch window he saw Andrea holding a pale Marnie on her hip, waving at her big sister.

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked; pointing at the blindfolded, sluggish stranger in the back of the truck.

"That's Randall," Jordyn answered slamming the door shut and securing a weapon over her back. "Don't look at me that way," she scolded T-Dog as she walked through the group towards the house. "I wanted to leave him out there." She walked right past him, but only gave him as much of a glance as she did everyone else.

With their morning safety run cancelled, everyone went their separate ways again. Daryl followed this new Randall kid and refused to take his eyes off him. Shane and Rick were just the same, Shane much more on the offensive with Randall than Rick, shoving him to walk faster if he slowed down and being as gruff as possible when pushing him into the chicken shed. They cuffed him and kept him blindfolded, so he wouldn't have anything to identify where he was should he get out and make it back to his people.

Daryl, Shane and Rick decided to watch Randall in shifts. Shane volunteered first, and Rick went off in search of his wife, so Daryl went back to the farmhouse looking for Jordyn to ask her what she knew about Randall and his crew. He followed girl's voices and found her upstairs, but she wasn't alone.

And she was half-dressed.

She was on lying on her stomach, head turned away from him, with Maggie leaning over her. Maggie had two desk lamps pointed at Jordyn's spine and was using rubbing alcohol and tweezers to remove the shards of glass stuck in her back. Her skin was covered in gouges, but between her shoulder blades Daryl saw something he didn't expect on a quiet girl like Jordyn. A tattoo. A Claddagh symbol, to be specific. Maggie was dabbing a cotton swab around a wound near it. He would have thought the whole scene was pretty hot if it wasn't for the blood and scrapes all over Jordyn's skin.

"Need something?" Maggie asked Daryl without looking at him, dropping a glass shard into a metal bowl resting on Jordyn's mark-free lower back.

Turning her head so she could see him, Jordyn pulled in her elbows to cover the side of her chest. "Everything okay?"

"The hell happened to you?"

"It rained glass," she said with a weary grin. "If I'm lucky I'll have a whole new batch of scars."

"One or two," Maggie agreed removing another shard.

"Where's Randall?" Jordyn asked.

"Chicken shed. Tied up." Daryl answered, leaning against the doorjamb. "Why'd you wanna leave him behind?"

"He took a shot at me," Jordyn said. "And Glenn. And before that he and his two other friends cornered us in a bar, and before _that_, two other guys pulled their guns on us and one pissed in front of me so," she tried to shrug but it was difficult in her position. "No, I wasn't keen on bringing that piece of crap back here to my sister."

"I think that's all of it," Maggie exhaled, removing one more piece of glass, and leant back in her chair. "Take a shower, and I'll check again later." she looked to Daryl and raised an eyebrow. "That's your cue to leave."

With a nod to both of them, Daryl silently turned to leave them to it with an image of Jordyn showering forming in his mind, aided by the fact he had just seen her naked back. And the side of her breast. He hadn't seen skin so white and smooth before. He was used to farmer's skin. Rough and tanned from working in the sun all day. He was used to women who laid out in the sun to brown their skin, or lathered up with that fake tanning stuff. Women whose skin bore signs of prolonged smoking or drug use. Not smooth skin. Even with all those gouges, her skin seemed so smooth.

Shaking his head, Daryl jogged down the stairs and went to join Shane and guard Randall. His sudden rush of blood pulsing through his body need to be unleashed somehow.

**xxx**

It was early evening when Rick came to relieve Daryl from Randall-Watch. The kid didn't really say anything; just whimpered and begged to be let go. He wouldn't tell them where he was from, where his camp was set up, and he kept insisting that he wasn't a threat to them.

Daryl planned to just go back to his makeshift camp on the edge of the farm, but a figure standing by Merle's truck made him stop. At first he thought it was Maggie, but it was Jordyn probably dressed in Maggie's clothes. The loose-fitting pale green shirt she wore came down past her waist, and it had some sort of frills on the hem of it. A girly shirt, a girlier shirt than he was used to seeing Jordyn wear.

"Hey," she noticed him as he came closer to her. "He say anything?" Her eyes flicked to the chicken shed.

"Just keeps cryin'," Daryl answered, joining her beside his brother's truck. "Making more noise the longer he sits there, so his leg's probably gettin' better."

"Hold this," she handed a duffle bag to him and reached deeper into the truck.

"What are you looking for?"

"Marnie has to eat with the pills I got her," Jordyn said. "And she wants milk but she'll only drink powdered milk, which I know we got from my apartment so it's somewhere - ah!" she triumphantly held up a can of powdered milk, took back the duffle and packed the can inside it.

"She gonna be okay?" Daryl asked.

"We'll see," Jordyn gave him a nervous smile. "She's still giggling, so..." she shrugged and added a couple more things from the truck to the duffle. Then she paused, thinking on the spot. "It's my birthday today," she said a moment later. "Well, yesterday now. I only remembered when I saw a calendar at the pharmacy last night."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

Daryl couldn't hold in a snort. "Thought you were older than that." He'd thought she was much closer to Andrea's age, mid-thirties or something. She sure acted like it.

"Thanks," she deadpanned and went back to packing the duffle bag. "I was supposed to be in Vegas this week," she explained. "My friend Dani and I... her dad owns the bar we worked at; he was giving us all these extra shifts so we'd have money to waste," she smiled briefly. "Got about six grand sitting in a bank account, not that it's any use now..."

Chewing his lip, Daryl walked around to the front of the truck, took the keys from the ignition and came back to Jordyn. "Here," he put the keys in her hand. She just looked at him, confused. "I drive the bike anyway," he added with a shrug. "Here."

"Oh, no, I c-can't take your truck," Jordyn said handing back the keys. "It's your brother's."

"Take it. All your crap's still in it anyway," Daryl pointed out, glancing at all the bags and boxes of stuff they'd gathered on their trek to find Marnie. "Something less for me to worry about. But if-" she cut him off when she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, tighter than she had the first time she'd hugged him. Mindful of her glass cuts, he carefully laid one hand on her lower back at the belt of her jeans.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"No problem," Daryl replied, his throat tight. His fingertips were grazing her skin, it felt just as smooth as it had looked to him before. And warm, she was so warm. "But if Merle comes back you'll have to deal with him."

Jordyn laughed under her breath, and then leaned in and kissed his cheek. Then, as her mouth slightly curved, she edged in closer and kissed his lips. Just gently, as if to see what he would do. But Daryl had no intention of stopping her, so when she leaned in to kiss him again, he parted his mouth and pressed it full against hers. With a gasp, she ran her hands up the back of his neck threading her fingers in the back of his hair and lightly pulling on it. It sent a wave of electricity through Daryl's body and he pressed himself completely up against her pushing her back against the door of the truck.

"Ah!" She winced in pain and gripped his shoulders to make him stop.

"Sorry!" His carelessness had swiftly and successfully ruined the mood.

"It's okay," she took a step aside away from him and lifted a bag from the truck. "Marnie has to eat with those meds I brought back, so I should go in anyway," she rested her hand on his shoulder, then moved it up to his cheek, and then dropped it to her side. "Thank you for the truck," she said. "But if you want it back all you have to do is ask." Smiling, she slipped the bag over her shoulder and went inside to her sister.

**xxx**


	27. Innocence Maintained

**Chapter 27: **Innocence Maintained**  
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With Carol's help, Jordyn managed to use the powdered milk to cook together some instant porridge for Marnie. Even though her little sister insisted she wasn't hungry, she took two mouthfuls of porridge and then begrudgingly swallowed a spoonful of Ery-tab crushed in powdered milk before demanding Jordyn lie down with her.

Jordyn cuddled with her sister, read her stories, and hummed a song to her before she was confident she'd fallen asleep. And even then, Jordyn didn't want to leave her in case she woke up. Instead, she started clearing up the mess she'd made. Duffle bags with clothes spilling out of them, random socks scattered along the floor, and Maggie and Beth's old toys in various piles around the room.

In a way, the mess made Jordyn feel better. If Marnie could play around and be untidy, then she wasn't too sick. But Jordyn still felt bad about messing up a living room that wasn't hers with items that mostly weren't hers either; so she cleaned. It was soothing, folding clothes and packing them neatly, arranging the toys in a happy little group on the coffee table, stacking the books together by Marnie's head so she wouldn't have to search far for them if she woke up. It was nice to only have to think about what teddy bear should sit next to the Barbie doll instead of wondering if she could fire a bullet and hit two Walkers at once.

Or maybe it was that she was staving off the inevitable task of dealing with Randall that made cleaning seem so soothing to her. Because all too soon, Andrea was in the doorway telling her everyone was in the dining room about to decide what to do with their new prisoner. Marnie would be asleep for awhile, the Ery-Tab had a drowsiness warning on the packet, even so Jordyn still didn't want to leave her. But Randall had to go. He had to leave the camp; he was nothing but a threat. A threat to Marnie, a threat to her friends. Those sick men at the bar, the memory of the way they'd leered at Jordyn still made her skin crawl. And Randall was a part of that crew. They shouldn't have brought him back to the farm in the first place.

He had to go.

Unfortunately, Rick seemed hell-bent on convincing everyone that he had done the right thing, that it would have been inhumane to leave Randall behind. Everyone was sitting around the dining table, Rick was at the head standing with one leg up on a chair. To his left were Glenn, Dale and Carol. To his right, his wife and son and young Jimmy. Patricia was at the other end of the table with and T-Dog standing behind her. Shane, looking disinterested, stared out the window with Andrea just by him and Maggie hung by the door as Jordyn came in.

"We couldn't just leave him out there," Rick was preaching to the group as Jordyn arrived. "He would have bled it out. If he lived that long."

"It's gotten bad in town," Glenn revealed to the still silence of everyone around him.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked.

From the hallway, Hershel joined them cleaning his hands on a cloth. "I repaired his calf muscle as best I can," he said. "But he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out on the main road and send him on his way." Rick nodded as though this was the plan all along.

"Isn't that just the same as leaving him for the Walkers?" Andrea pointed out.

"It'll give him a fighting chance," Rick replied.

"We're gonna let him go?" Shane suddenly became very interested in the conversation. "He knows where we are."

The back door creaked open, and Jordyn turned to see Daryl join them. He nodded a brief hello to her to which she smiled back, dwelling only briefly on the memory of their kiss.

"He was blindfolded the whole way here," Rick reminded his friend, his voice increasing in volume. "He's not a threat."

"And how many of them were there?" Shane asked, shifting angrily from foot to foot. "You killed three of their men, took one of 'em hostage, but they ain't gonna come lookin' for him?"

"They left him for dead," Rick insisted. _"No one_ is looking."

"We should still post a guard," T-dog brought up.

"He's out cold," Hershel said. "Will be for a few hours."

"Know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," Shane scoffed and began to storm out. "Look at this folks! We're back in fantasy land."

"Hey!" Hershel growled at him, making him turn back around. "We haven't even dealt with what you did in my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all: this is _my_ farm," he lowered his voice but his words didn't sound any less powerful. "Now, I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Shane didn't speak, but every inch of his face screamed his disagreement about the way things were being run. "So, do us both a favour. Keep your mouth _shut_."

"Look," Rick stood between both men, but spoke mainly to his partner. "We're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off."

With a snort, Shane shook his head and stormed out the front door. After a moment, Andrea followed him. A troubled looking Glenn disappeared into the hall with Maggie, and everyone else began to disperse. After Lori lead Carl towards the kitchen, Jordyn found herself alone with Rick, who was leaning on the back of a chair and staring at a spot on the table. Her aversion to being by herself with Rick hadn't wavered; she still couldn't get how the Sheriff was putting Randall's safety so high up on his list of priorities. Wanting to check on Marnie anyway, Jordyn got to her feet and started to leave.

"He's a kid," Rick said.

When Jordyn turned, she saw he was looking at her with that same piercing stare he'd been using on his speech to the group just moments before. The look that told her he was trying to get her on his side.

"He's a _kid_," Rick said again. "You know we didn't have a choice, we couldn't just leave him out there like that."

"We _did_ have a choice," Jordyn countered. "And you already know I think you made the wrong one. That hasn't changed."

"He'll be gone in a week."

"That doesn't make it okay," Jordyn snapped. "He knows us, knows our faces and voices. He will always be a threat to us now. _Always_."

"I don't think you understand-"

"Oh, I understand," Jordyn kept her voice low, but tried to invoke the same threat to her words that Hershel had when he'd torn strips off Shane. "I understand that you're still clinging to some hope that who you were before all of this still matters. Things aren't the same anymore, normal rules don't apply. A threat is a threat. And Randall is a threat. Problem is, Rick, I don't think _you_ understand."

"What don't I understand?"

"That the old way of thinking, the moral way to handle things? That doesn't mean shit. We don't have the luxury to think that way. We can't even take care of our own group without losing people," Jordyn's hands balled into nervous fists. "And you bring in a stranger you expect us to feed, clothe and protect, and can't seem to get why some of us might have a problem with that?"

Shaking his head slowly, Rick crossed his arms over his chest. "I get the world's changed," he said firmly. "Believe me, I get that. But that does _not_ mean we just throw away our humanity the first time we're tested." He held her gaze, waiting for her to reply, and when she didn't he turned and stomped out onto the porch.

The fact that he was repeating exactly what Jordyn was having issues with proved to her that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this conversation, so she stopped. There were more important things for her to be doing than having a pointless argument with another stubborn guy.

* * *

><p>A week later, Jordyn finally got her wish. Hershel declared Randall fit enough to get on his feet so Rick and Shane blindfolded him and loaded him in the back of a car to drive him at least eighteen miles away from the farm. They didn't even share with the group where they planned on taking him for fear Randall would overhear somehow.<p>

From Marnie's room upstairs, Jordyn watched them drive away through the window. She kept watching until the car was out of sight, and breathed out slowly just bathing in the flow of relief that washed over her. The threat was gone. Well, the fresh threat. Having Randall in their camp was just like losing a stick of dynamite; it was gonna go off at some point but you had no idea where or when. But he was gone, so Jordyn switched her focus back to nursing her sister.

The tension over what had happened in the Greene family barn had waned enough for Maggie to offer Marnie a bedroom upstairs. The living room where Marnie had been sleeping was a thoroughfare for the rest of the house, there was always someone walking past or a door being slammed. Upstairs, she was safe and quiet.

Maggie also found an old coat of Beth's in the attic for Marnie to wear since the weather was getting cooler. The coat was a little big, but it was lined with lamb's wool which made it very warm. The nights were already making Jordyn pile on more clothes, and it was only going to get worse.

Hershel said Marnie was improving and that her lungs were clear, but she was still lethargic from the medication. She didn't jump up or run around to play; it took too much out of her. Instead she preferred to sit and play quietly by herself, or bug Andrea, Lori or Jordyn to read with her.

By that afternoon, Marnie was already yawning. As her days had been going, this one had been pretty hectic for her. Jordyn had given her a bath, but was paranoid that having wet hair would just encourage the pneumonia to gain strength and attack all over again so she made Marnie sit by the window in the sunlight until it was dry. Then after Jordyn told Marnie that Daryl had given her Merle's truck; the little girl wanted to go outside to see it again. So Jordyn had glued Marnie to her hip and taken her to look at the truck. They weren't outside too long, a breeze picked up that made Jordyn shiver so she retreated back into the house with Marnie.

The afternoon sun was dipping on the horizon, and the cool breeze became chillier so Jordyn went to shut the window. Across the field, she saw Daryl at his little isolation camp on the edge of the woods. The change in weather had affected his choice of clothing. He kept his sleeves on now, but always wore his faded leather biker vest with the angel wings printed on the back. Ironically suitable. They hadn't spoken about their kiss since it happened, and Jordyn wasn't planning to bring it up. She didn't regret it but she wasn't going to lure Daryl into some sort of long-winded discussion about the feelings, if any, they had for each other. What would happen would happen, regardless of what either of them said.

Jordyn's attention was diverted by the rumbling of an engine coming up the dirt driveway. It was Rick and Shane. They weren't speeding, they weren't motioning out the car windows; nothing about them said something was wrong. So Jordyn let herself smile; but that faded as soon as she saw Shane exit the car and move to the trunk. And then he helped Randall out onto his feet.

* * *

><p>Daryl stalked back and forth in front of the kid. He should have been gone, Rick and Shane were supposed to dump his ass. Get rid of him. But they'd brought him back. For some reason, they'd brought him back. And now there was a huge uproar about what to do with him. Until then, he was locked in the chicken shed with his hands cuffed behind his back while they all tried to question him about his people.<p>

With bloodied knuckles, Daryl had been badgering the kid for a half hour and still had nothing. But he was nowhere near ready to give up trying. Just looking at the kid, thinking of what he'd done, his people who'd shot at Glenn and Jordyn. His people who tried to kill them in that bar. Randall was one of _them_, and that thought was what propelled Daryl's fists into the kid's body.

"I told you," Randall sputtered weakly as he slumped to one side. His face was banged up pretty bad, mostly Shane's work, but the swollen cheekbone came from Daryl.

"You ain't told me shit!" Daryl slammed another fist across his face.

"I barely knew those guys!" Randall gasped, spitting blood from his mouth. "I met 'em on the road!"

"How many in your group?" Daryl asked, standing back and pacing in front of him again. When the kid didn't answer, Daryl slowly removed his hunting knife from its sheath.

Randall's one functioning eye rounded when he saw the glimmer of the knife blade. "No, no, no, come on, man!" He begged, pressing himself back against the wall.

In one motion Daryl knelt to the floor and stabbed the knife into the floor just by the kid's injured, but freshly bandaged, leg. "How many?"

Randall tried squirming away from Daryl but it was pointless, he couldn't move. "Ah, thirty! Thirty guys!"

"Where?" Daryl asked. Again, the kid took too long to answer, so Daryl tore off the bandage. As Randall bellowed in pain, Daryl snatched up his knife and held the edge of the blade right on the line of Hershel's stitches. "Where?

"I dunno!" Randall cried. "We were never at any place more than a night!"

"Scoutin'?" Daryl asked, leaning in nose to nose with the kid. "Plannin' on stayin' local?"

"I don't know!" Randall maintained. "They left me behind!"

He was lying about something, Daryl could hear it in the weakness in his voice. He was in pain, but not in as much as he was trying to pretend he was in. "Ever pick off a scab?" Daryl leant his knife against Randall's wound, and the kid groaned in genuine distress. "Start slow, but in the end you just gotta rip it off!"

"Okay! Look," as Daryl relented slightly with the knife, Randall caught his breath. "They have weapons. Heavy stuff. Automatics." He started to whimper and smacked his head back against the wall. "But I didn't do anything!"

"Your people took a shot at my people!" Daryl reminded him, pushing the knife back down against his scab. "Try and take this farm? And you just went along for the ride? Are you tryin' to tell me you were innocent?"

"Yes! These people took me in!" Randall panted. "Not just guys, a whole group of people. Men, and women and kids, too. Just like you people. I thought I'd stand a better chance with them."

It was the most the kid had spoken, so Daryl backed off with his knife but, even as he stood, he kept leering at his prisoner.

"But," Randall swallowed and stared down at his injured leg. "We'd go out and scavenge. Just the men. One night we...we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters. Teenagers. Really young... really cute..."

Daryl felt disgust creep into his veins.

"Their daddy had to watch while these guys," clearly ashamed, Randall avoided Daryl's eyes. "And they didn't even kill 'em afterwards! They just made him watch," somewhat lost in the memory, Randall started to sound vague. "His daughters... just left 'em there."

The disgust spread through Daryl's body, tightening his hands into fists and pulling his mouth into a sneer. He had known when Jordyn told him about the gross shithead who had pissed in front of her that there was something up with these people. But what this kid was saying made Daryl want to react. Physically react; and take it all out on Randall. There was no way his people could get to this farm, no way he was gonna have people like that around Jordyn and Carol. Marnie...

Suddenly, Randall seemed to remember where he was and who was standing in front of him. "No, but I didn't touch those girls! Naw, I swear-!" Daryl's boot to his stomach cut him off. "I'm not like that!" His voice was strangled, and trailed off as he succumbed to the pain of his wounds. "I swear I ain't like that..."

But Daryl was past listening to him; he'd heard enough. Enough to know this kid was never leaving this farm. No chance he was going to get back to his people and lead them back to his group. Rick wanted to have some sort of group vote that night, but by sending a final punch across Randall's face, Daryl had made his choice.

A few more blows later, Daryl left the kid whimpering and wailing for his mother, and made his way towards Dale's camper where his people were gathering.

**xxx**


	28. Just A Little Bit Longer

**Chapter 28: Just A Little Bit Longer**

Jordyn was furious that Randall was back. It didn't matter how Rick tried to explain it to her, to all of them, that they were ambushed by Walkers at a school where they'd planned to leave the kid behind. The end of the story was that they'd brought him back to the farm in worse shape than when he left.

Thankfully for Jordyn, she wasn't the only one pissed. Daryl was furious too, and on Rick and Shane's suggestion took to punching the living crap out of Randall if he didn't give them information about his crew. Jordyn wasn't advocating torturing the kid, but all she wanted was for him to go. Leave the farm so Marnie was at least a tiny bit safer. After all, Jordyn's life centered around her sister now.

Since having been on the Ery-Tab, Marnie improved day by day. She was so excited to be getting her energy back, she often tired herself out. That day she sat atop the kitchen bench and helped Maggie dry dishes after lunch she started getting really sleepy, so Jordyn took her upstairs and read her to sleep.

It struck Jordyn that she wasn't thinking if it was too early or late for a nap, or if she should be making sure Marnie got a full eight hours during the night; that was impossible to plan for when at any moment Walkers could ambush and then they'd just have to get driving. So, while they had the safety of the farm and Marnie had the comfort and warmth of a bed, Jordyn was getting her to sleep every chance she got.

Outside, Rick had everyone gathered around the farm waiting for Daryl to return from his interrogation on Randall. To busy herself, Jordyn started organizing the back of Merle's truck - she couldn't quite consider it her own just yet. Carol was helping her line some tarp down on the tray when Daryl joined them. He was sweating, his knuckles were bruised and bloody, and he had his crossbow slung over his back.

"Your boy there's got a gang," Daryl announced to Rick. "Thirty men. They got heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends. They roll through here and our men are all dead. Our women... they're gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol asked, eying his bloodied knuckles.

Daryl wouldn't look her in the eyes. "Had a little chat."

"No one goes near this guy," Rick instructed everyone.

"Rick?" Lori pulled her husband aside. "What are you gonna do?"

Taking a moment to collect himself, Rick slowly turned and looked each one of his people in the eye. "We have no choice. He's a threat," he briefly looked at his feet. "We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale said, his face a muddle of confusion and shock.

"Wait," Jordyn dropped can of powdered milk and it clanged against the truck. "Are you freaking kidding me?" She rounded in on Rick. "I've been saying he was a threat since you brought him back here!" Shane got between her and Rick and held her back. "_Now_ you believe me?" She kept snapping at Rick over Shane's shoulder. "_Now_, when your plan went to shit you realize that you were wrong?"

"And you were right." Rick said firmly, patting Shane to let him know he could move aside. "I should have listened to you." Rick planted a hand on Jordyn's shoulder and locked eyes with her. "He is a threat. He's gotta go. My way didn't work so we gotta try something else." He looked around to his people. "Its settled. We'll do it today." With a tone of finality, Rick turned and walked off with Dale chasing close behind him.

For some reason, Jordyn didn't feel as good as she thought she would when her idea was finally given merit. She was still pissed off._ Now_ they were gonna kill him. Never mind all the crap they've been doing to protect him and keep him alive, _now_ Rick decided it might be better to put the safety of the camp, of his friends and family, before that of a stranger who'd tried to shoot them.

After checking that Marnie was still napping, Jordyn decided to take her frustration and turn it into something useful. So, she got her new rifle - the one positive from the whole Randall situation - and sat on the porch familiarizing herself with it again. On her old rifle she had scratched Connor's name into the handle, as a tribute to him, but she decided that this new weapon should be a totem for the future, and not a reminder of the past. So, she began scratching Marnie's name into the metal. She was halfway through when Dale came to speak to her.

"How's your sister?" He asked, standing by her on the porch, but not sitting in the empty chair next to her.

"Napping," Jordyn answered blowing flecks of metal off her rifle. "She really wants to be better and play but she just gets rundown."

"She'll recover," Dale said resolutely, taking his floppy hat off his head. "You take good care of her. She's very lucky to have you."

As good and honest a man as Dale was, Jordyn was definitely not used to him just dishing out compliments for no reason. "What's going on?"

Wringing his hat in his hands, Dale took a step towards her. "I want to talk to you about Randall."

A weight dropped in Jordyn's stomach. "No," she went back to her scratching. "Sorry, but no."

"Rick is going to kill that boy," Dale said looking exasperated. "But if I can get enough people on my side I can stop that from happening. Now, I know you don't want this boy's death over your head."

"You weren't out there with us," Jordyn reminded him, haunted by the memory of what had happened in town. "You didn't see how they shot at us, like we were Walkers. Like _we_ were the enemy."

"But don't you see that by doing this you _are_ being the enemy?" Dale's expression to her was one of pity, and pleading. "Look at how he's being treated. Blindfolded and handcuffed in a shed, being beaten for information. Come on, Jordyn," he slowly shook his head. "Torturing people? That isn't you. You're good. You're a decent, young woman with heart. I know you care what happens to him."

His sweetness didn't waver her opinion on Randall. "No, Dale," Jordyn said, getting to her feet. "I don't. Everything I do is for my sister," she held her rifle at her side. "_Everything_. And having that ass here is dangerous for Marnie, and _that _is all I care about."

Dale's eyebrows knitted together. "So you'll just go along with everyone else?"

"I'm not 'going along' with anything," Jordyn protested, slinging her new rifle over her shoulder. "I don't want him here. If that means he has to die," she shrugged, but felt a pang of guilt strike her chest at how callous she sounded. "Then that's what's gotta happen."

"No," Dale shook his head. "No I don't believe that's how you feel. You know this is wrong. He doesn't have to die. That doesn't have to be the answer."

Sighing, Jordyn couldn't think of anything else to say. She'd said it all, repeatedly. Her mind was made up. "Things are different now, Dale," she said quietly. "A year ago, I would have agreed with you," she admitted. "But a year ago, I hadn't seen my brother try and kill me, or seen my family die, or seen the entire world become a mess of drooling, crazed monsters."

"That doesn't mean we have to change," Dale pressed.

Giving him a small smile, she shook her head. "Yes, that's exactly what it means," and she dropped their conversation right there, heading off the porch with no real destination.

As she wandered, Jordyn couldn't help but admit to herself that Dale had a point. But Jordyn knew she did, too. Her one certainty in the new world, the one thing she knew for sure, was that Marnie's safety came before anything and anyone else. Including herself. She didn't have the luxury to pity another person; not anymore. That included Randall.

Jordyn's wandering took her to Daryl's little isolated camp where she found him roughly scrubbing at his fists with a dirty rag. "What are you doing?" She asked as she approached him.

"Whatsit' look like?" Daryl grunted, showing her he was scouring Randall's blood off his hands.

"Well," she knelt down in front of him. "You're not doing a very good job," she took over for him and wiped the dried blood of his fists. As she cleaned the skin, she noticed how bruised and swollen his knuckles were, and realized how hard he must have laid into Randall. "Did Dale speak to you?"

"Yeah, Old Timer's decided to be some sorta martyr," Daryl scoffed. "It don't matter. When it comes to Randall, Rick's gonna do what Rick's gonna do."

"He has to go," Jordyn said, and Daryl nodded in agreement with her. A small gift of kindness that she found extremely touching, so Jordyn leant forwards and kissed him. In the back of her mind she was thinking how her back didn't hurt as much now, and if he was to pin her down she wouldn't recoil as she had earlier. But their kiss never made it to the level it had the first time, because Daryl sharply pulled his lips away from her.

"You don't gotta do that," he said becoming intently focused on rubbing his knuckles.

"Do what?"

"I'm on your side," Daryl mumbled, avoiding her eyes. "I got your back," he stood and gathered up his crossbow. "Ain't gonna cost you anything." And then he left, and disappeared into the woods. And again, Jordyn felt a pang of guilt hit her chest, but even so she found herself almost smiling as he walked away. Like she had expected this reaction from him, like it was Daryl just being Daryl.

But the guilt she felt was because she didn't want Daryl to think any desire for him was based on a debt he felt she owed him. Truthfully, she did owe him everything. And Andrea. They'd helped her find Marnie, she could never repay them for that. And even if she could, she wouldn't do it in the way Daryl assumed. But, just as truthful, was the fact that Jordyn's burgeoning attraction to Daryl had nothing to do with a feeling that she owed him something, it was more selfish than that. She wanted to kiss him for her, not for him.

Still, as Jordyn made her way back to the farmhouse, she wondered if that's how he thought of her. In general, she didn't care how others perceived her, but this was different. More complicated, she supposed. Even in her own mind she could see how Daryl would think her kissing him was an act of duty on her part, something he felt she was expected of her. And Jordyn really didn't know how to convince him otherwise.

At the farmhouse, Lori caught Jordyn's elbow as she walked by her on the porch. "We're gathering up," Lori told her. "Getting everyone together to decide what to do with Randall."

"Lemme check on Marnie," Jordyn said starting for the stairs. "And I'll be right back down."

"Okay with you if I send Carl up to sit with her while we talk about this?"

"Yeah," Jordyn nodded. "Sure." Lori and Rick had made a parental decision not to shield their son from the horror of the new world, but it seemed that this Randall conversation crossed the line of things they thought a young boy should have to hear.

Hearing the creak of footsteps and the whine of the door opening, Marnie awoke to see her sister in the doorway. "Jordy?" she rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed.

"Hey, Miss Lady, how do you feel?" Jordyn sat beside her sister and felt her forehead, relieved that her fever was almost gone.

"Hungry," Marnie yawned. "Can I have porridge for dinner?"

"Course you can," Jordyn said picking up the pile of children's books beside the bed. "The rest of us have to have a talk first, okay? But Carl's gonna come up here and read with you, so you pick a book, alright?" Smoothing Marnie's hair over her head, Jordyn kissed her sisters temple. "And I'll bring you your dinner as soon as we're done."

When Carl came in, clearly annoyed he wasn't allowed to join in the grownup conversation, Jordyn went downstairs and joined everyone else. If nothing else, her group sure knew how to gather up fast. Even Daryl was back from whatever he'd been doing in the woods. Everyone was together, but they sat in a disjointed circle in the living room where Marnie had been resting just a few days before.

Andrea stood with Shane by the fireplace, Patricia was perched delicately on the couch beside Hershel and Maggie. T-Dog stood by the window next to Daryl who had his shoulder against the doorjamb. Glenn sat on the piano chair, Carol was standing by the open door with Lori, and Jordyn was in the doorway between the living room and the stairs. Rick and Dale were the only ones moving in the middle of the group, on opposite sides just like the argument they were preparing to dispute.

"So, how do we do this?" Glenn broke the silence and asked the room. "Just take a vote?

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea asked.

"Let's just see where everyone stands," Rick said calmly. "Then we can talk through the options."

"Way I see it," Shane started. "Only one way to move forward..."

"Killing him, right?" Dale finished for him, his tired voice bearing the stress of a whole day spent failing to convince the camp that they should keep Randall alive. "I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing."

"Look, if people believe we should spare him; I want to know." Rick admitted.

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group," Dale muttered, balling his hat repeatedly in his fists. "Maybe just me and Glenn."

At the sound of his name, Glenn became visibly uncertain; and it was a look that Dale noticed. "I think you're pretty much right about everything," Glenn said apologetically to Dale. "But this-"

"They've got you scared!" Dale suddenly burst out, gesturing to the group.

"He's not one of us." Jordyn cut in. Glenn still hadn't totally recovered from their trip to town; he was still shaken and the whole Randall thing was making it worse, so Jordyn wanted to help him where she could.

"And we've lost too many people already." Glenn finished.

Scrunching his hat in his fist, Dale turned to Maggie who was watching Glenn with a careful eye. "How about you?" Dale asked her. "You agree with this?"

Sighing, Maggie turned to Rick. "Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" She asked hopefully

"Just another mouth to feed," Daryl pointed out.

"Look," Shane spoke up, his voice dripping with a cocky sarcasm he'd been sporting since he came back without Otis. "Say we let him join us. Maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's nice. Then we let our guard down and maybe he runs off and brings back his thirty armed men."

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale's voice rose. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope," his eyes pleaded with his friends. "Rule of law is dead, there is no civilization."

"Could you drive him further out?" Hershel suggested to Rick a moment later. "Leave him, like you planned?"

"You all barely came back this time," Lori reminded them. "There are Walkers, you could break down, or you could get lost. We should not put our own people at risk."

From the corner, Patricia spoke up for the first time. "If you go through with it how would you do it? Would he suffer?"

"We could hang him," Shane said immediately. "Snap his neck?"

"Shooting him in the head may be more humane." Rick replied with an odd amount of ease in his voice.

"Hold on!" Dale interrupted. "Hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided!"

"We've been talkin' all day," Daryl told him. "Just goin' round in circles, you wanna just go round in circles again?"

"This is a young man's life!" Dale cried, his eyes searching for _someone_ in the room to agree with him. "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with them?" He looked at Rick in disbelief. "You _saved_ him! And now look at us. He's been tortured, he's gonna be executed," he shook his head and looked around at everyone. "How are we any better than those people who left him behind?"

Another bout of silence followed, this time broken by Shane. "We all know what needs to be done."

"No, Dale is right," Rick suddenly conceded. "We can't leave any stone unturned here, we have-"

Jordyn's stomach churned in disbelief. "You changing your mind again?" she blurted out.

"Let Rick finish," Lori told her.

"No," Jordyn kept going. "We haven't come up with a single viable option that he'll stick to-"

"So let's work on it!" Dale reaffirmed. "Jordyn, you helped keep Randall alive even if you don't think you did. That means there's a part of your mind that knows killing this boy is not the only option. You don't want Marnie to grow up in a world where this is how you solve a problem, do you?"

Well aware of the eyes on her, Jordyn just focused on Dale. "If the flipside is his people ambushing us then there isn't another option."

"Alright, that's enough!" Rick ordered. "Anyone wants the floor, now's the chance to say what you want."

Nothing but quiet followed, no one opened their mouth in Randall's defence or in Dale's favour. It was a scene that made Dale looked utterly defeated. "You once said that we don't kill the living," Dale pleaded with Rick.

"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us."

"But don't you see that if we do this that the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead!" His eyes glistened with frustrated tears. "And this new world, it's ugly, it's harsh, it's survival of the fittest!" His face scrunched up in distaste. "And that's a world that I don't want to live in, and I don't believe any of you do! I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else that's gonna stand with me?"

After almost a full minute, Dale finally got a supporter. "He's right," Andrea said. "We should try to find another way."

But no one else spoke. Not a word. And it was clear from the tears in Dale's eyes that he knew he was beaten; that he had lost his battle for what he deemed their humanity. "Are you all gonna watch, too?" He sniffled. "Nah, you'll just go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being," he looked around at each of them in disgust. "I won't be a party to it." Walking through them all, he paused by Daryl. "You're right. This group _is_ broken." he muttered, and then he was out the door.

**xxx**

Never before had Jordyn wanted to be distracted as much as she did that night. Shane, Daryl and Rick lead Randall to the barn where they intended to execute him. Dale was heartbroken and the camp was quiet, but the decision had been made and Rick was going to be the one to pull the trigger.

After the Randall discussion, Jordyn had made Marnie her porridge dinner, given her the medication and read her to sleep again. A part of Jordyn was thankful the meds had a sedative in them, it helped Marnie drift right off to sleep. Once she was better, Jordyn knew bedtime wouldn't be this easy.

Double checking the windows were locked, Jordyn left the lamp on by Marnie's bed and went downstairs and out onto the porch with Maggie. The evening air was cold, and Jordyn shivered in her singlet. Even the metal on her _Bite Me_ pin was ice against her skin.

Maggie retreated inside and returned with a black suede jacket. "Here," she offered it to Jordyn. "Take it, it's real warm."

"Thanks," Jordyn slid into the jacket and let it envelop her. It was a little tight around the shoulders but it kept out the cold. "What about you?" Maggie just wore a light t-shirt.

"I'm headed inside in a sec," she looked out towards Dale's camper where Glenn was sitting on a foldout chair staring at his hands. "He said he felt like he let you all down out there, when he froze. Said all he could think about was getting back to me, not getting you all out safe. Feels real guilty about it"

Raising her eyebrows, Jordyn wasn't sure what to say. "He's too good for his own good," she said with a smirk.

Maggie smiled, about to reply, when something on the horizon caught her eye. The look on her face made a shiver run down Jordyn's spine, even within her new, warm coat. Turning towards the barn, Jordyn saw five - not three - people walking back towards them. Shane, Rick, Daryl, Carl - and Randall.

The five of them split, and Daryl lead Randall back towards the chicken shed while Rick fronted the camp who were gathered around the dwindling campfire. "We're keeping him in custody." Rick announced as Jordyn came over. Even in the shimmering light of the fire, Jordyn could see his face was visibly drawn and pale.

Smiling, Andrea got to her feet. "I'm gonna go find Dale," she said with relief.

From the look on Rick's face, Jordyn knew she wasn't going to get any answers from him so instead she headed towards the chicken shed where Daryl was tying a whimpering Randall back against the wall. "So, what happened?"

Daryl looked like he expected her. "Carl showed up, Rick couldn't go through with it." He tugged on the chains to make sure Randall was bound tight, and then came out and locked up the shed. "Guess he lives another day,"

"You really think Rick'll do it?" Jordyn asked.

Daryl shrugged. "I don't think he can kill the living."

And then they heard Dale scream.

It was so loud and evoked such pain that Jordyn felt her heart skip. Immediately, she and Daryl took off towards the direction of the sound. And the closer they got to the pained cries of their friend, the more Jordyn could hear that all too familiar, hungered groan of a Walker.

A slice of pain seared across Jordyn's broken rib, running was not going to help the healing process, but she couldn't stop because up she knew Dale was in trouble. And the closer she got, the more she knew what she saw was going to be devastating. She just didn't realize how much.

Heart thudding in her chest, Jordyn's stomach rolled at what she saw when she came to a stop. To her left was still twitching carcass of a cow with its innards ripped out, and then right next to it a skeletal Walker was on top of Dale with its grotesque, bony hands buried deep in his chest. Jordyn couldn't even scream. Beside her, a blur of Daryl in his angel winged vest tackling a walker to the ground and jammed a knife through its skull before it realized what was going on.

Jordyn fell to her knees by Dale, paralysed at what to do. There was blood everywhere, and pieces of Dale's insides just slipping out of him. But he was still alive, and in agony. "Hang on, Dale," she said urgently as she heard Daryl screaming to let everyone else know where they were.

Rick arrived first, and Daryl pulled Jordyn to her feet to get her out of the way. Rick took Dale's face between his palms. "Just breathe, brother, just breathe," he kept repeating as Shane and a shock white Andrea arrived.

"Oh," Andrea dropped to her knees and crawled by Dale, clasping his hand between hers. "Oh, Dale, no," she whispered.

"Oh, God," Glenn stammered when he saw his friend. Lori appeared with Hershel and covered her mouth in horror.

"Help him," Rick ordered Hershel. "Doc, help him!"

"We're here, Dale," Andrea kept repeated. "We're here, just hang on."

"Can we move him?" Rick asked the doctor.

"He won't make the trip." Hershel said flatly. Then he stood, rested a hand on Rick's shoulder and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

The wave of realization ran through all of them in the same moment. Dale was going to die. Lori fell to her knees, her face just blank. Glenn was crying. Her face crumbling, Jordyn grabbed Daryl's arm and pulled herself against his body to muffle her cry against his shoulder. He was just staring at Dale, as shocked as Daryl Dixon could ever appear.

Dale's face twisted in agony, and his groans became more guttural and wet, like he was choking on his blood. Every time he breathed, more of his insides would push through the gap in his chest.

"He's s-suffering," Andrea stammered. "Do something!"

Rick, knowing what had to be done, stepped forwards and removed his gun from its holster. But even as he aimed it down at Dale, his face betrayed him. He couldn't do it, just as he couldn't kill Randall. He couldn't kill the living, even if they were in dire agony.

It didn't surprise Jordyn as much as she thought it would when Daryl dropped his arm from around her waist and took the gun from Rick's hands.

Amidst the tears and shock of the camp, and the cries of agony from Dale, Daryl knelt down on one knee and lined up the pistol straight between Dale's eyes. "Sorry, brother."

By the time she heard the gun fire, Jordyn was already halfway back to the farmhouse. Hot tears were burning behind her eyes and the pain in her rib was worsening, but she didn't slow down. She was on the porch in two steps and then crashed through the house, bolted upstairs to Marnie's room and grabbed her sister out of a peaceful sleep to hold her tight in her arms.

Marnie was still half-asleep, but with Jordyn's panting and, it didn't take long for Marnie to get upset. "Jordy, what happened?" Sensing her sister's anguish and panic, Marnie started to cry. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Jordyn lied, trying to get her breathing back to normal. "You were just having a bad dream, baby," she held her sister tighter to her body. "That's all it was." Confused, miserable and tired Marnie just cried and buried her head against Jordyn's chest. "You know what I do when I have a bad dream?" Jordyn whispered tearfully, threading her fingers through Marnie's hair. "I close my eyes and I think of something nice," shutting her eyes, Jordyn let the tears fall down her cheeks. "Like being here with you."

**xxx**


	29. Resting Here With Me

**Chapter 29: Resting Here With Me**

With an awkward jolt to her chest, Jordyn woke up with her heart racing and a cold sweat beading over her body. Nightmares were common to her now and they all ended the same way: with every person in them turning into a Walker. The only difference this time was that it happened at the Greene farm.

Previously, Jordyn's bad dreams had been in her family home, her apartment or even in a subconsciously-stylized version of Las Vegas - all in places she'd been in the past or wished she could be. It made her anxious that this nightmare had taken place in her current location. Jordyn had never been superstitious; but then she'd never believed the dead would walk around.

Trying to shake off the grotesque images of her undead friends moaning and shuffling towards her with their arms outstretched, Jordyn kicked off her blankets, noticing Marnie wasn't beside her. She was standing at the window looking out. "They're digging," she told Jordyn when she saw she was awake.

"Hey, what are you doing up already?" Jordyn spoke in a hushed whisper, the wall clock told her it was just past six in the morning. "Do you feel okay?"

Marnie nodded but didn't look away from the window. "You move around too much when you're sleeping," she said.

Reaching out her hand, Jordyn beckoned Marnie to come to her. "Okay, I'll sleep on the floor tonight," she ran her hand across her forehead to feel her temperature. Marnie was a little warm. "Climb back in here," she lifted Marnie across her lap and settled her back into bed. While she was tucking Elroy beside her, Jordyn noticed an unsettling crinkle in her sisters brow. "What's up, baby?"

"Who died?" Marnie asked wrapping her arms around her beloved teddy bear.

Jordyn stiffened as she flattened out a second quilt over her sister. "What makes you think someone died?"

Untucking one of her arms, Marnie pointed to the window. "Daryl and Shane are making dead holes," she said fiddling with Elroy's ear. "At Echo camp, Rosie called them dead holes 'cos they put the dead people in them."

The first instinct that came to Jordyn's mind was to deny the death, tell Marnie it had been a bad dream and what she'd seen out the window wasn't real. But Jordyn didn't like lying to her, especially when it wouldn't do any good in the long run. Her sister was young and naive, but she wasn't stupid. She would notice Dale missing. "It was Dale," Jordyn admitted. "Dale died."

Marnie hugged Elroy tighter. "Did he turn into a monster?"

"No, he just..." Jordyn exhaled, unable to think of a way to phrase it that wasn't blunt. "It was an accident."

Curling herself up into a ball, Marnie used Elroy as a pillow and closed her eyes. "I wish Mummy was here," she mumbled quietly.

The corners of Jordyn's mouth twitched and her eyes became wet. "So do I."

**xxx**

As the morning became afternoon, the group held a burial for Dale.

His grave was beside Sophia's, already filled in, with a fresh bundle of flowers on top. Everyone gathered around the graves in clumps of two or three. Together, but not really together. Rick gave the eulogy, a mark of the profound impact Dale's death had on him. And again, Rick's priorities changed. Randall was going to live; they were going to give him some supplies and drive him into town.

With Marnie bundled in two coats, two scarves and a woollen hat and carrying Elroy, Jordyn allowed her sister to attend the funeral. She felt it was important, considering all the people Marnie had lost and never had the chance to say goodbye to. Their parents, Connor, God knew how many people at those camps. And Marnie liked Dale, he took her to look at the horses in the barn before she got sick. So for the time it took to farewell Dale, Jordyn silenced the nagging doubt about Rick that she'd been feeling lately. The worrying niggle that made her doubt their leaders leadership. For now, all that mattered was Dale.

"Dale could... could get under your skin," Rick was saying. "He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had - we've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us - the truth who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity."

Jordyn clutched her arms tighter around Marnie, afraid of even taking one hand off of her.

"He said this group was broken," Rick continued clutching Lori's hand. "The best way to honour him is to un-break it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives... our safety... our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on... we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honour Dale."

After a moment more of silence, the group all parted to get on with the task of the day: moving everyone inside the Greene home. Hershel finally relented, citing that due to the cold weather, they could all make a place inside his house.

Jordyn didn't have anything to move, since they'd come back with Marnie she hadn't left the house and everything she owned was in the back of Merle's truck anyway. So instead she took her sister for a wander to see the horses like she had in the past with Dale.

They were only out for a few minutes before Marnie started coughing, so Jordyn gathered her up and took her inside. It was only while forcing her sister to lie down in bed that they both realized they'd forgotten someone.

"Elroy!" Marnie cried.

"Where is he?"

"I left him with the horses," Marnie looked ready to burst into tears. "Daddy gave him to me, I need Elroy!"

"Marnie," Jordyn took her sisters face between her palms and smiled. "It's okay, I'll go get him."

Lori took over watching Marnie while Jordyn jogged back out to the stables hoping she'd find the bear just sitting there waiting to be picked up. But she wasn't that lucky. It took two scans of the stables before she found him face down in a puddle of mud. "Dammit, Elroy," Jordyn snatched up the teddy and wrung him out like a towel, but the water had soaked him through and he was covered in stains Jordyn hoped were just dirt.

There were a couple of buckets of water by the stable nearest to her, but Jordyn didn't know if that water was earmarked for something. The Greene's had wells, but they collected rain water too for the horses to drink, then there was water set aside for washing up. There was a system, and Jordyn didn't know where cleaning a muddy bear fit into it. And, for some reason, that made her angry.

"What are you doing?" Daryl was walking by on his way to the farmhouse.

"Marnie wants her bear," Jordyn said holding up Elroy. "But he smells like shit so I have to wash him before I give him back to her but I don't know if I can use this water or if it's something for the horse or for people or what."

"Just tell her he's dirty."

"She won't understand."

"What's to understand?"

"I don't know!" Jordyn snapped. "I don't know what she understands about any of this," once she started ranting she couldn't seem to stop. "She says she knows Dale's dead but I don't even think she's sure what that means. She calls the Walkers monsters like they're not real! How the hell is she going to understand that I don't know if I can wash her bear when we all take showers, drink water, and do laundry? She doesn't know what rationing is. All she's going to see is something else she can't have, something else I can't do right."

"It's just dirty toy," Daryl shrugged as he took the bear from her hands and tossed him into one of the buckets. "Wash him up and he'll dry. And why don't you try to be a little Zen or something? I like you better when you ain't strung out." He didn't wait for her to reply, he just kept on walking.

**xxx**

By the time the sun set, Randall had escaped.

Somehow, he had escaped. When T-Dog went to retrieve him for his drive, all he found were bloodied handcuffs. Jordyn was fuming; what she feared would happen had happened. That kid was on his way back to his pervert gang and he was going to lead them straight to the farm. And Shane was gone, too. Possibilities of what had happened ran through Jordyn's head: Randall breaking out and killing Shane, Walkers coming through and eating them, Randall's crew coming back for him and taking Shane as a hostage. Each scenario seemed just as plausible as the other. That was until Shane came storming out of the tree line.

"Rick!" Shane roared. He was fuming, too. He informed them all that Randall must have picked the lock on the cuffs because when he went in to check on him, the kid slammed Shane's head into the wall, broke his nose and then ran off. Shane said he'd followed but had passed out; and when he woke up Randall was gone - along with Shane's gun. "He can't have gone far," Shane panted, wiping blood from under his nose.

"T-Dog, Jordyn, get everyone in the house," Rick instructed. "Find Andrea, you three guard until we get back," Rick turned to Daryl and Glenn. "You two go that way," he pointed behind the chicken shed. "Watch out for each other; the kid's got a weapon." Then, he and Shane took off into the woods.

Jordyn fled back to the house with T-Dog, ushering everyone inside and locking all the doors and windows. Andrea appeared from Dale's trailer and took watch on the front porch with a shotgun. Night fell quickly. Upstairs, Jordyn sat with Marnie. The commotion was keeping her awake, so Jordyn busied her sister with folding her own clothes and organizing her toys. Even Maggie helped her, grateful for a distraction from her worrying about Glenn. Plus, after scrubbing Elroy clean and getting rid of the stable smell on his fur, Maggie had become Marnie's new hero.

It was less than a half hour later that Glenn returned safely. He was a little shaken, but otherwise okay, when he informed them that Randall was dead and they didn't have to worry. Behind him, Jordyn saw Daryl at his makeshift camp stoking his fire. Grabbing the black suede jacket Maggie gifted to her, Jordyn slipped it on and made her way across the field while Glenn continued to talk with Hershel, Andrea and T-Dog.

"You're sure you found him?" Jordyn asked Daryl as she approached him. "Randall?"

"Yeah, he's dead." Daryl confirmed, but his eyes were narrowed like the sun was blinding him.

"Then why do you look so weird?

"He was a Walker," Daryl explained sitting on the log just in front of his tent. "But he wasn't bit. He had a broken neck and no bites."

Jordyn gnawed her lower lip. "Maybe he got Walker blood in a cut or something?"

"Maybe," Daryl set his crossbow down at his feet. "But he died from a broken neck."

A chilled wind rustled through the air making Jordyn shiver inside her jacket. "You should come back to the house," she told Daryl. "It's too cold out here,"

"I got a fire," he shrugged and began to count his arrows.

To make a point, Jordyn stood between Daryl and his fire. "Your fire sucks and the house is warm."

Daryl gave her an odd look. "Being in that house ain't gonna make this group less broken,"

"You still think that?"

"You don't? You said you wanted to leave."

"It's not that I _want_ to leave, but if I had to..." she trailed off, not in the mood to argue. Instead, she found another mood taking her over. A mood she had until now been ignoring. "And we're not broken," Jordyn echoed Rick's eulogy, his sentiment to Dale. "We have to pull together, and take control of our lives." Heeding a surprise surge of strength from Rick's words, Jordyn planted a hand on either of Daryl's shoulders and sat herself right on his lap. "Not broken."

When she kissed him, he reacted almost instantly. He dropped his arrows and grabbed her firmly by her backside, making his intent clear. He paused, an offering of escape if she had suddenly changed her mind. But she hadn't. She kissed him again, harder, and he pulled her hips down so she slid right up against him.

He yanked off her suede jacket, pulled open the buttons of her shirt and slid his hand up the warmth of her back, feeling the healing scabs on her skin. Another cold gust swirled in the air, so Jordyn began to lean against Daryl until he got the picture and they scooted backwards towards the tent.

Once out of the cold night, they resumed their position. Jordyn straddled Daryl before he could sit up fully and crashed her lips against his. She slid his angel-winged leather vest off his shoulders and then tugged at the press buttons of his shirt until they all came free. It was dark; she couldn't see him, but she could feel him. And he felt warm, inviting, and comforting. Overwhelming.

Now shirtless, Daryl pulled off Jordyn's already unbuttoned shirt and ran both his hands up her spine underneath her bra strap, unhooking it. She let the bra slip off her shoulders and wrapped her arms tight around Daryl, pressing their chests together. The warmth of his body against the chill of her own sent shivers rocketing through her veins. He manoeuvred his hand between their bodies and palmed her breast; feeling the heat from his hand engorge her nipple under his touch. Lifting her slightly, Daryl rolled Jordyn onto her back and lowered himself down on her. One hand was lost in her hair, the other was unzipping her jeans.

Gasping, Jordyn angled her face so she could kiss him fully on the mouth, her own hands were at his waist unbuckling his belt. When she reached into his jeans, Daryl's hand was rubbing inside her thigh, and her touch made him grunt against her lips.

And then they heard the gunshot.

It was close; that's what caught them off guard. It wasn't far out in the distance, muffled by the trees or acres of land. The unmistakable sound was close. Very close. On the farm close.

Once outside the tent, partially dressed Daryl and Jordyn squinted into the darkness. "I don't see nothin'," Daryl mumbled.

But Jordyn did. Behind the barn, across the paddock, spreading like an oil spill. Walkers. Easily fifty, with more and more expanding out of the woods behind them. And all of them were ambling directly for the Greene family home.

**xxx**


	30. Don't Tell Me If I'm Dying

**Chapter 30: Don't Tell Me If I'm Dying, I Don't Wanna Know**

Keeping crouched down, Jordyn and Daryl sped towards the farmhouse. The herd of Walkers was stumbling right towards their safe haven, which with the dim glow of the porch lamps seemed to be lit up like a Christmas tree. It was acting as a beacon, calling the Walkers in.

As bad as it was, however, Jordyn couldn't hear the moans of the infected, so she knew she would have time to get to Marnie. If she would be able to get _out _with her was another question entirely. Without her gun or any sort of weapon, Jordyn felt more naked than she had mere minutes before in Daryl's tent.

Breathless, the pair made it to the farmhouse with the swarm still threatening in the back paddock. Over her shoulder, Jordyn saw the closest ones were in the field behind the barn, but there were still Walkers emerging from the woods.

"Go," Daryl urged her up the porch steps and burst through the front door right behind her.

They crashed through to the living room where the remaining Greene family members plus Jimmy, Andrea and Glenn were gathered. "What's goin' on?" Maggie asked, rising immediately from the couch beside Patricia.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl panted, leaning forwards on his knees.

Glenn shook his head. "That gunshot come from you?"

"No," Jordyn pointed towards the window, joining Daryl in catching her breath.

Hershel peered out the wooden slats covering his windows and stiffened. "Patricia, kill the lights." He whispered.

Patricia did as he asked, and then joined him by the window. Her gasp alerted her daughter, and soon everyone found a spot by the window and saw the oncoming threat. "I've never seen that many." Maggie muttered to no one in particular.

"Maybe they'll just pass like the herd on the highway," Glenn said hopefully from beside her. "Shouldn't we just stay inside?"

"Unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl spoke up. "A herd like that'll rip the house down."

"So," Andrea stepped back from the window, her face determined. Like she was ready to get moving. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here."

"Agreed." Jordyn nodded as behind her Carol and Lori appeared looking worriedly between the group. Glenn directed them to the windows revealing the spreading swarm.

Hershel's face became very still, his wise eyes settling on each guest at his farm. "You can go if you want."

Reading Hershel's tone of voice, Daryl gave him a sharp look. "You're gonna take 'em all on?"

"We have guns." Hershel said firmly. "We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can," Andrea spoke up coming in from the other room with the Sheriff's bag of guns and setting it on the delicate coffee table. "Then we can use the cars to lead the rest of 'em off the farm."

"Meet up at the highway." Jordyn added, taking the handgun Andrea gave her and passing on a shotgun to Hershel. "If Rick and Shane can't get back here, that's where they'd go."

"You serious?" Daryl asked Hershel a final time.

"This is my farm," Hershel said with a flicker of pain in his eye. "I'll die here."

"Alright," Daryl slid his crossbow off his shoulder and began to load up an arrow. "It's as good a night as any."

"I'll go get Carl." Lori said fleeing from the room.

"Gimme your keys," Andrea nudged Jordyn. "I'll take your truck, get T-Dog and start shooting, " she caught the keys right out of the air. "Jimmy, take the camper," the young boy simply nodded at her order.

"I'll go with Maggie," Glenn volunteered picking up a shotgun and extra shells from the bag.

"We'll go to the highway with Lori," Jordyn said nodding to Carol. "Wait there with the kids,"

"Okay," Andrea zipped up what was left of the weapons in the sheriff's bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Then let's move."

Daryl was already out the door making a run for a his bike. T-Dog was stomping out the campfire with his boots when Andrea grabbed him and dragged him to Merle's truck. Maggie and Glenn climbed into a lime green hatchback and Hershel took his position on his porch with his shotgun, a rifle and a pistol armed and ready to shoot whatever came towards him.

"Get bundled up," Jordyn instructed Patricia and Beth who were huddled in the hallway. "I'm getting my sister then we're going." Sliding the handgun into the waistband of her jeans, Jordyn took the stairs two at a time and burst into her sister's bedroom.

Cocooned in her blankets and clutching a newly clean Elroy, Marnie sat upright, clearly aware something was going on. They hadn't exactly been quiet downstairs "What's happening?"

"We gotta go." Grabbing Marnie's _Finding Nemo_ backpack, Jordyn snatched Elroy from her sister and stuffed him inside as well as all the medication she had left on the nightstand.

"Where are we going?" Marnie asked as her sister wrapped her up in a coat and scarf.

"We're leaving." Jordyn said, quickly tying Marnie's shoes.

"I don't wanna go," Marnie whimpered as Jordyn secured her bag over her back.

"It's gonna be okay," Jordyn scooped Marnie onto her hip mid-stride out of the bedroom. "But you gotta hang onto me, okay?" In reply, Marnie squeezed her arms tight around Jordyn's neck as they started down the staircase.

"Carl!" Lori bellowed as she came thundering down the stairs after Jordyn. "He's gone!" Her eyes were wide with panic. "He ain't upstairs!"

"What?" Jordyn rearranged Marnie on her hip; she hadn't seen Carl upstairs either. She just assumed he was around somewhere. He was a quiet boy.

"He's not in the basement either," Carol chimed in as she came in from the rear of the house.

"He followed Rick," Lori's face paled at the sudden realization. "Boy can't do one thing I ask him." She went straight for the front door.

"No, you can't go out there," Jordyn pulled her back by her shoulder. Lori didn't even have a gun, going out there screaming her sons name with no protection would make her an easy target.

"You have to trust that he'll find his way," Carol agreed taking Lori's hand. "And when he does he'll need his mother."

"The barn's on fire!" Beth suddenly cried out.

As a group, the women burst out onto the porch and saw the orange and yellow flames dancing up into the night sky. The barn was utterly ablaze, and parts of it were already collapsing. The light from the fire had attracted some of the Walkers, but not nearly all of them. And the ones at the front of the swarm had already passed the barn and were still making a beeline for the farmhouse.

"Ok," Jordyn nudged Carol down the porch steps. "Let's go." Jordyn thought they had time to get to the cars and just go the other direction of the horde; she didn't count on the infected already being there.

Walkers hadn't just come from one way out of the woods, they'd come from all over and were surrounding the farm. It was as though they planned on encircling the living to trap them like cattle being herded into a corner. Walkers crashed through the outside camp, barging through the tents and walking straight through the smouldering fires. And they had spotted Jordyn and her friends; the path to Hershel's red station wagon was littered with them.

"They're coming to get us!" Marnie cried seeing the stumbling figures making their way towards them.

"Marnie," Jordyn held her sister to her hip with one hand and removed her pistol from the back of her jeans. "I need you to close your eyes as tight as you can, alright?" Slowing to a walk, Jordyn aimed her weapon at the closest Walker and fired a bullet through its jaw. Then, so suddenly it made Jordyn shriek, a Walker hidden beneath the shadows tackled Patricia and sunk its teeth into her neck.

"Mum!" Beth screamed as two more Walkers snatched Patricia by her arms and began to chew through her skin. "Mum!"

A loud rumbling came up behind them. Merle Dixon's truck mowed down three Walkers and stopped just in front of Lori.

"Get Carol!" Lori yelled to Andrea who swooped out the passenger's side window and hit the ground running. "Beth! We gotta go, honey!" Lori had to physically pull Beth's hand from her mother's. "She's gone, we gotta go!" With the girl's hand tight in her own, Lori made it to the car and pushed a wailing Beth into the seat beside T-Dog.

"Jordyn!" Marnie suddenly cried out, her young voice fraught with fear.

Spinning on her heel, Jordyn saw three Walkers emerge from around car walking crookedly towards her. She fired a shot into each of their heads, but as they fell, she saw at least a dozen more coming from behind the farmhouse. The pile feasting on Patricia was growing, and the ones that couldn't get to her set their sights on Jordyn and Marnie. Jordyn couldn't reach the car; it was impossible.

"We'll drive around!" Lori shouted to Jordyn. Walkers were already at the truck slamming their hands up against the windows. T-Dog had to reverse sharply to get enough room to move.

Jordyn shot down two more Walkers; but they were closing in. If she stood still, they would surround her. So she started backing away. Then, in a corner of the darkness, Carol's voice screamed: "Look out!"

To her far right, the flash of Andrea's gun gave Jordyn a brief view of her friend's face the second before she fell to the ground underneath the huge, looming body of a Walker. "Andrea!"

T-Dog swerved the truck right up to Carol. Carol, pained to have to leave Andrea behind but with no other choice, bolted towards the truck and climbed in the back. "Jordyn!" Carol cried out reaching for her as if her hand could stretch across the gap and Walkers between them and simply lift her to the safety of the car.

Firing another bullet through a Walker's skull, Jordyn realized only her option was to head back into the farmhouse; she would never make it to the car. "Go!" She yelled to Carol. "GO!"

"No!" Carol cried out as T-Dog started to drive away. "No! No!" But her voice was soon lost among the roar of the fire and moans of the undead.

With one foot on the porch steps, Jordyn saw the farmhouse was no option. "Shit!" She cried stumbling back and almost losing her grip on Marnie. Walkers were already inside the house having come in through the back. They were doing just as Daryl suspected; they were going to tear the house down.

Adjusting Marnie on her hip, Jordyn began skirting the edge of the house when she saw a gap in the swarm towards the burning frame of the barn. With more Walkers behind her than in front of her, Jordyn set Marnie on the ground and ordered her to run. "Don't look back, just run!" She yelled. Marnie's face was contorted in fright and anguish but she did as her sister asked of her.

Together they ran, following the gap in the Walkers as though it were a maze. Marnie kept slipping, but Jordyn held her tight even if she had to carry her one-handed for a few steps. Thinking fast, Jordyn thought if they could make it into the woods she might be able to hide up a tree with Marnie for the night. Maybe the fire would distract the Walkers long enough the next morning for them to be able to get away.

They were at the fence between the paddocks; Jordyn could feel the heat from the fire and see the silhouetted Walker bodies aimed for her. Lifting Marnie right off her feet, Jordyn planted her on the other side before flinging herself over the post. As she grabbed Marnie's hand to run again, a Walker who had reached the fence snatched Marnie's backpack in its grasp.

"NO!" Jordyn yanked Marnie towards her, loosening the Walker's grip on her. In front of her, she heard another growl. Jordyn smacked the Walker across the face with her gun and then stamped down on its head like it were a spider. The sickening crunch of her boot on wet flesh and brittle bone was masked by more moans from behind them. And her ammo was running low.

"Marnie, run!" Jordyn let go of her sister's hand. "Go!" She stood in front of Marnie and fired two bullets into approaching Walkers. "Towards the trees; run!" She could hear Marnie's wails carry off in the air as she ran away.

Speeding up to an awkward backwards run, Jordyn tried to gauge just how many Walkers were closing in on her. There were easily more Walkers than she had bullets. She just had to make it to the trees. Jordyn slowed herself down to line up another shot when her feet got caught. She toppled her onto her backside and fell back on her elbows.

"Shit!" Jordyn grunted, shuffling back away from the body of a headless Walker she had tripped over. The impact on her elbow sent a familiar burn of pain through her still-healing rib; Hershel said it could easily break again. But she had no time to scrutinize her injuries. From the ground she fired at three female Walkers closest to her. And then she heard that heart sinking _click, click, click_ that told her she was out of ammo.

"Jordy!" Marnie, having stopped running when she saw her sister had fallen, had immediately started coming back. Walkers were coming in at her from the sides, over the fence. Marnie was a sick, exhausted, six-year-old girl; even at a run she wouldn't stave off the Walkers for long.

"Marnie!" Jordyn pushed herself up and sped off towards her sister. The pain in her elbow was causing a numbness to spread across her right side. In a hobbled run, Jordyn snatched her sister up off the ground putting herself between her sister and the Walkers.

"Shit!" Jordyn's knee buckled under Marnie's weight on her right side and they both fell to the ground.

"We have to run!" Marnie cried tugging on Jordyn's hand to try and pull her to her feet.

Keeping Marnie in front of her, Jordyn tried running sideways to keep her eyes on the section of the swarm that were tailing them. Much closer now; if they fell again the Walkers could just pile on as they had with Patricia.

She had no time; Marnie had to keep running. Jordyn could distract the Walkers long enough for her to get up a tree, then maybe she could lead them away. And when they bit her, she'd just keep running in the other direction until she turned. Marnie would be safe, and Andrea would come for her.

But last she saw; Andrea was underneath a Walker body. Lori would come back... but would Rick let her? Was Rick even safe? Or Carl? Would Daryl come back? Glenn would, but did he and Maggie get out? It was too risky, no, Jordyn couldn't leave Marnie behind with no one to protect her. They would stay together. Even if it were only the two of them.

They reached another fence and Jordyn heaved herself over as Marnie climbed through the lower slats. Once through, Jordyn took her sister's hand and felt something pulling back. Hard. And Marnie was screaming. The Walkers had her by her _Finding Nemo _backpack.

"Get off her!" Jordyn screamed and slammed her handgun across the Walker's head, it let go but two more were already reaching through the fence and clawing for Marnie.

With as much strength as she could muster, Jordyn slammed her gun through the bone of one of the infected skulls. The weapon cut gruesomely through the skin making blood and brain matter spill like a fountain over the slats of the fence. Thinking on her feet, Jordyn pulled Marnie out of her jackets and scarves and kicked at the groping, decaying hand of a Walker grabbing at Marnie's hair.

With the Walkers momentarily distracted with the human smell on the coat, Jordyn snatched up the _Finding Nemo_ backpack and scooped Marnie into her arms. To hell with the pain in her side; they would stay together. Jordyn began an awkward run towards the trees; but she could hear the fence snapping under the weight of the Walkers pressing against it. They had to find a tree, they had to get up off the ground. Jordyn had no weapon and Marnie was already shivering. Footsteps were closing in on her, moans and growls were surrounding them, and Marnie was sobbing for their mother.

Then Jordyn heard the roar of an engine.

"Come on, ain't got all day," Daryl said as he skidded his bike to a stop in front of them. He plucked Marnie from Jordyn's arms and sat her in front of him. Then he aimed his gun at the four Walkers closest to them and expertly fired a bullet into each of their heads.

"Go!" Jordyn slid onto the back of the bike slamming her fists into Daryl's back. "Go, go, go!"

With a sputtering growl, the bike took off kicking up a storm of dust behind it. Over her shoulder Jordyn saw the swarm disappear amongst the cloud. A loud crackling caught Jordyn's ear, and in the distance she saw the roof of the barn succumb to the hungry flames and disappear amidst the billowing, black smoke.

If Marnie was crying, Jordyn couldn't hear it. She assumed the engine was running since the bike didn't slow down, but the roar of it didn't reach her ears. All she heard was her own heartbeat pounding so hard she thought it might eject her right off the bike.

Jordyn held her arm tight around Daryl's waist and pressed her body up against him putting as many miles and millimeters between her and the Walkers as possible. She maneuvered her other hand so she could reach her sister's shivering fingers and clasped them tight. The only thing Jordyn saved was the only thing that mattered. They would stay together.

**xxx**

**The End... for now.**

Jordyn will be back for season 3 in the form of a new fic, so keep an eye out for it :)**  
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	31. Author's Note

_Just a quick note as I've recently been getting a lot of Story Alert's for this fic, this one is completed however Jordyn's story is not. Season 3 is up and running already under the title "One Day, Even We Will Be Saved" ( s/8813339/1/), so please check it out :)_


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